The former operators and ex-manager of a United Petroleum outlet in Queenstown, South Australia, have been fined $38,500 for staff underpayments and other workplace breaches.
The Federal Circuit and Family Court imposed a $35,000 penalty against former operators, Sai Enterprises Pty Ltd, and fined the former manager Raman Monga $3,500.
Sai Enterprises was audited by the Fair Work Ombudsman as part of an investigation. The regulator discovered when three workers left their employment in 2021 Sai Enterprises failed to pay their accrued but untaken annual leave entitlements of $2668.
Sai Enterprises also breached workplace laws by failing to issue the workers with pay slips within one working day of making a payment, and failing to issue written agreements for part-time staff.
Monga was penalised for his involvement in the failures in the workplace breaches.
The affected workers, who were international students at the time, were back-paid in full after the Fair Work Ombudsman began its investigation.
FWO has undertaken five litigations
Judge Stewart Brown said the underpayments “were not trifling amounts for the individuals concerned and each was compelled to wait a significant time for reimbursement”.
“In addition, were it not for the fact of the FWO’s general investigation into United Petroleum outlets, it is unlikely that the shortfall would have ever been detected,” Judge Brown said.
The FWO has undertaken five litigations against former operators of United Petroleum-branded outlets, following an investigation of the network in response to concerns about non-compliance.
Earlier this year the FWO secured $179,221 in penalties for underpayments of workers at two United Petroleum-branded outlets in Tasmania.
In August, a former Brisbane operator and sole trader, was fined $15,984. The other court case is ongoing.
