skip to Main Content
Gold Coast Restaurant Owner Avoids Legal Action Over Underpayments

Gold Coast restaurant owner avoids legal action over underpayments

The owner of a Gold Coast restaurant has avoided legal action after being caught underpaying his workers more than $54,000.

Instead of taking Sridhar Penumechchu (pictured) to court for wage theft, the Fair Work Ombudsman offered him an Enforceable Undertaking.

As a result of the deal, Penumechchu has promised to back-pay his workers and “improve workplace practices”.

Workers paid illegal flat rates

Penumechchu runs the Saffron Indian Gourmet restaurant at the Gold Coast.

Between January and May last year, he underpaid 22 employees a total of $54,470.

Penumechchu paid flat hourly rates between $15 and $18.50, and as a result, he failed to pay lawful:

  • ordinary hourly rates;
  • casual loadings; and
  • weekend and public holiday penalty rates.

Underpayments of individual workers ranged from $143 to $9,457.

Most of the affected employees are visa holders, including 14 international students and five temporary work visa holders.

Gold Coast restaurant owner avoids legal action

Under the terms of the Enforceable Undertaking, Saffron Indian Gourmet has started paying back its workers through a payment plan.

The restaurant must also:

  • pay for an external auditor to check the pay and conditions of all employees; and
  • provide workplace relations training for all managers, payroll and human resource staff.

The restaurant must also make a $25,000 donation to the Gold Coast Community Legal Centre.

Watch dog needs to act more like a watch dog

Industrial advocate Miles Heffernan questioned the priorities of Fair Work.

“Before this employer is made to make a donation to the local community legal centre, I would rather see him pay back his workers,” he said.

“It’s time the workplace watch dog acted more like a watch dog, and not like a foot massage department that considers enforcement and legal action all too hard.”


Call our team at Industrial Relations Claims today on

1300 045 466

To connect with us, please follow us on

 

Back To Top