Industrial Relations Claims is reminding employers that the new national minimum wage is now in effect, increasing to $19.49 per hour, or $740.80 per week. According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, compliance issues can often be traced back to when…
Business lobby groups that continually claim that wage theft is not deliberate, but rather the result of 'innocent' mistakes made by employers are nonsense, according to industrial relations experts. "We constantly hear from business groups that wage theft shouldn't even…
Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker has promised a stronger approach to enforcement against businesses that commit wage theft, but the regulator will still give priority to vulnerable groups like overseas workers instead of Australian nationals. The stronger focus on enforcement…
A former employee of high profile fashion designer Alex Perry who was sacked for swearing and using threatening language has lost his unfair dismissal claim, after the Fair Work Commission found he had falsely accused his boss of making sexist…
One of the country's leading industrial relations experts is calling for schools to teach teenagers about their workplace rights before they enter the workforce, including how to deal with wage theft, discrimination and sexual harassment. Miles Heffernan, Litigation Director of…
Many inner city cafes and restaurants charged customers a public holiday surcharge today, despite recent cuts to penalty rates for hospitality staff. Since July 2017, workers in hospitality have had their weekend and public holiday penalty rates slashed by 15…
Two massage parlour workers who were sacked after starting a relationship have been awarded almost $40,000 compensation, after the Fair Work Commission found they had been unfairly dismissed. In addition, the former owner and former supervisor of the Canberra Foot…
The operators of a major service station chain with outlets located across regional New South Wales are facing legal action after being accused of deliberate and systematic wage theft. Westside Petroleum Retail and three of its management staff are due…
Brisbane hospitality workers are this morning staging a protest outside the office of Federal MP Ross Vasta to mark the second anniversary of the government's decision to cut penalty rates. Mr Vasta voted eight times since February 2017 to cut…
A former Caltex service station franchisee has been penalised $77,708 for falsifying the wage records of migrant workers to cover up suspected underpayments. Mohammad Arif Rana was today penalised $11,540 by the Federal Circuit Court, while his family’s company, Abdul…
