The Fair Work Ombudsman has secured a $25,200 penalty in court against a Sydney-based passenger transport company.
The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia has imposed the penalty against Ambient Transport Pty Ltd.
The penalty was imposed in response to the company breaching the Fair Work Act 2009 by failing to comply with a Compliance Notice.
The Court has also ordered Ambient Transport take the action required by the Compliance Notice, which includes calculating and rectifying underpayments owed to five workers in full, plus superannuation and interest.
Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said the regulator would continue to enforce laws in a proportionate manner during the COVID-19 pandemic and business operators that fail to act on Compliance Notices need to be aware they can face court-imposed penalties on top of having to back-pay workers.
“When Compliance Notices are not followed, we are prepared to take legal action to ensure workers receive their lawful entitlements,” Ms Parker said.
“Any employees with concerns about their pay or entitlements should contact us for free advice and assistance.”
Fair Work Inspectors commenced an investigation after receiving requests for assistance from drivers who had been engaged by Ambient Transport between May and October 2019 to transport passengers.
A Fair Work inspector issued a Compliance Notice after forming a belief that drivers had not received all earnings under the Passenger Vehicle Transportation Award 2010, including one employee not receiving any earnings at all, and the company had contravened provisions of the award relating to penalty rates for weekend, early morning, and night work.
