Assisted by Maja
Podinic.
When the Fair Work
Ombudsman (FWO) paid an unexpected visit to the Saffron Indian
Gourmet Restaurant in the Gold Coast, they were interested in more
than a meal.
Following the receipt of a tip made via the
FWO's anonymous reporting tool, the Ombudsman opened an
investigation into the alleged underpayment of the restaurant's
workers, subsequently finding that 22 employees had indeed been
underpaid amounts ranging from $143 to $9,457.
Whilst these underpayments had largely occurred due to the
workers being paid flat hourly rates of between $15 and $18.50, it
was also uncovered that the restaurant's employees had missed
out on
casual loading, as well as
weekend and public holiday penalty rates which they had been
entitled to under the Restaurant
Industry Award.
