Fair Work puts the bite on businesses underpaying staff

The Fair Work ombudsman has been successfully targeting fast food joints, restaurants and cafes for underpaying their staff.

Julian Bajkowski

Aug 04, 2023

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If you thought the price of a feed at the humble suburban food court has climbed to gourmet levels, it could be because the Fair Work ombudsman has been hanging out beside the wok station or behind the bain-marie.

In a speech detailing Australia’s biggest pay cheats — admitted and alleged — acting Fair Work ombudsman Kristen Hannah has revealed the national wage inspector has launched an undercover crackdown on the cheap eats sector — especially cut-price sushi bars — for underpaying workers.

Speaking at the Ai Group’s annual PIR conference in Canberra, Hannah said she was “targeting and designing investigations for problematic industries” and “running a rolling program of unannounced audits in the FRAC [fast food, restaurants and cafes] sector … specifically targeting areas with ‘cheap eats’ havens”.

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Julian Bajkowski

Contributor

Julian Bajkowski is a senior reporter for The Mandarin, and is based in Sydney.