The Fair Work Ombudsman has secured a $7,992 penalty in court against the operator of a dietician business in Adelaide.
The Federal Circuit and Family Court has imposed the penalty against Clarke Allied Work Pty Ltd, which operates ‘The Innovative Dietitian’, with outlets in Blackwood, Maylands and Edinburgh North.
The penalty was imposed in response to Clarke Allied failing to comply with a Compliance Notice requiring it to calculate and back-pay entitlements owing to a worker it employed at the Maylands outlet between August 2020 and June 2022, initially as a part-time dietitian and then as a full-time principal dietitian.
The company back-paid the worker a total of $10,387, plus more than $1,000 in superannuation, only after the Fair Work Ombudsman commenced legal action.
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said business operators that fail to act on Compliance Notices need to be aware they can face penalties in court on top of having to back-pay workers.
“When Compliance Notices are not followed, we will continue to take legal action to protect employees. Employers who fail to act on these notices risk substantial penalties,” Ms Booth said.
“Any employees with concerns about their pay or entitlements should contact us for free advice and assistance.”
The FWO investigated after receiving a request for assistance from the affected worker.
A Fair Work Inspector issued a Compliance Notice to Clarke Allied in September 2022 after forming a belief that the company had underpaid the worker.
The Inspector formed a belief that the worker was not paid any wages for the final three weeks of work he performed, as owed under the Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2020, and was not paid accrued but untaken annual leave entitlements at the end of his employment, owed under the Fair Work Act’s ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Employment Standards.
Judge Antoni Lucev found that there was a need to impose a penalty to deter Clarke Allied and other employers from similar conduct in future.
“In this case, it suffices to observe that the penalty to be set will need to be set at a level which having regard to the importance and relevance of general deterrence as a consideration, acts as a warning to other employers generally, not to engage in the conduct of contravening Compliance Notices,” Judge Lucev said.
