The Fair Work Ombudsman has secured a total of $30,548 in penalties and back-pay orders in court against the operators of a Sydney-based company that supplies information and communication technology products and services, after they failed to back-pay a worker.
The Federal Circuit and Family Court has imposed a $7,000 penalty against Pure Telecom Pty Ltd, trading as ‘VMCN Solutions’ in Willoughby, and a $1,400 penalty against the company’s sole director Steven Joseph Woods.
The penalties were imposed in response to Pure Telecom failing to comply with a Compliance Notice requiring it to calculate and back-pay entitlements to a worker the company employed as a full-time IT professional between November 2014 and July 2021.
Mr Woods was involved in the contravention.
In addition to the penalties, the Court has ordered Pure Telecom to back-pay the worker a total of $22,148, plus superannuation.
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 and back-pay orders,” 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 Pure Telecom in May 2022 in response to the worker being underpaid minimum wages and accrued but untaken annual leave entitlements owed at the end of his employment.
These were owed under the Professional Employees Award 2010 and 2020 and the Fair Work Act’s ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Employment Standards.
The worker was owed more than $48,000. Pure Telcom has partially back-paid the worker through a payment plan only after the Compliance Notice was issued and the FWO commenced legal proceedings.
In imposing the penalties, Judge Robert Cameron found that the underpayments were “significant” when compared to the worker’s annual salary of $55,000.
