No hibernation for the Fair Work Ombudsman: Record penalties secured for wage non-compliance

By Lindsay Carroll
A close up of a referee's face as he blows a metal whistle with his left hand. The referee is wearing a black and white striped shirt and is standing on a grass sports field with a white goal post.

The pandemic hasn’t hindered the Fair Work Ombudsman’s (the FWO) efforts to investigate and prosecute wage non-compliance in the retail and fast food sectors. The FWO has recently secured record penalties against companies that have underpaid their workers and failed to satisfy their recordkeeping obligations. In May, following prosecution by the FWO, the Federal Court…

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Individuals facing tougher penalties for wage non-compliance

By Sophie Goodall
A torso shot of a man in a grey blazer, light blue collared dress shirt and a blue stripy tie holding up a red rectangle card.

With the Corporations Amendment (Strengthening Protections for Employee Entitlements) Act 2018 (Cth) (the Amendment Act) taking effect last month, now is an apt time to reflect on how officers of a company are subject to hefty penalties for failing to pay employee entitlements adequately when they fall due. The Amendment Act demonstrates stronger policy objectives behind the…

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Court fires warning shots at non-compliant employers

By Sophie Goodall
On a plain black background is an arm (from elbow onwards to the fingers) with their index finger pointed diagonally north west - finger is insinuating a warning.

For a long time now – since the Fair Work Ombudsman first started prosecuting employers under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) – it has generally been understood that accidental or inadvertent non-compliance with employment laws will be punished much less severely than deliberately unlawful activity. Those days, however, may be over, as a recent decision from…

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