Restaurant manager in court for a third time over wage theft

The former manager of a Queensland resort restaurant is facing court after allegedly underpaying workers for a third time.

Jia Ning Wang is accused of underpaying the employees at the Fire and Stone Restaurant at the Tangalooma Island Resort.

Also facing court is the company that owns the restaurant, Auspac Hospitality Management Pty Ltd.

Restaurant manager in court for a third time

The Fair Work Ombudsman alleges Wang, along with Auspac, underpaid nine workers a total of $2,239 between March and October 2017.

The underpayments involved failing to pay the legal minimum wage and entitlements the employees were entitled to under the Hospitality Industry Award.

Many of the staff worked in Australia on working holiday visas.

Fair Work also alleges Wang breached record-keeping and pay slip laws.

The previous cases

Fair Work has twice previously secured penalties against Wang and his company Golden Vision Food and Beverage Services Pty Ltd.

Miles Heffernan from Industrial Relations Claims says the case is further evidence of the need for criminal penalties for wage theft.

“This bloke is a serial offender who the regulator has penalised twice before,” he said.

“The monetary penalties clearly haven’t deterred him from ripping off his workers yet again.

“This is why we need criminal penalties for wage theft so dodgy bosses like Mr Wang end up with a criminal conviction and maybe even jail time.

The penalties

Wang faces penalties of up to $12,600 per breach and Auspac Hospitality Management faces penalties of up to $63,000 per breach.

The Federal Circuit Court in Brisbane has the matter listed for a directions hearing in February.

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