Bakery operator in Australia penalised USD 40,000 for exploiting Indian worker

An Australian court has imposed a USD 40,000 (AUD 60,480) penalty on a bakery operator and its director for deliberately failing to reward back-pay entitlements to two employees, including an Indian worker, and ''taking advantage'' of a migrant worker’s vulnerability, according to a government agency.

The two workers, one of whom was an Indian visa holder, were employed at the bakery outlets operated by Gothic Downs Pty Ltd between 2016 and 2018, The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO), an independent statutory agency of the government, said last week.

The Federal Circuit and Family Court imposed a USD 33,349 (AUD 50,400) penalty against the firm and a USD 6,669 (AUD 10,080) penalty against the company’s sole director Giuseppe Conforto, as the business failed to comply with compliance notices, requiring it to calculate and back-pay entitlements to the employees.

Judge Heather Riley inferred that the Indian worker, sponsored by the company on a Temporary Work Skilled visa, was “vulnerable” and that the company and Conforto “took advantage of her vulnerability”, the statement said.

The judge also found that the breaches were deliberate and rejected the company's claim that they were confused about how much was owed to the workers.

The FWO investigated the case after receiving requests for assistance from the two affected workers, one of whom was a pastry cook, while the other was a sales assistant.

The company and the director back-paid the workers a total of USD 19,921 (AUD 30,107) only after the FWO commenced legal action, the statement said.

“Employers also need to be aware that taking action to protect vulnerable workers like visa holders continues to be a priority for the FWO,'' it added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)