The operators of a sushi takeaway business have been penalised a total of $891,000 for underpaying workers and falsifying work records.
The Federal Court imposed these penalties upon HSCC Pty Ltd and HSCK Pty Ltd, which operate Hero Sushi outlets in Newcastle and Canberra respectively and each being penalised $225,000, and HSPF Pty Ltd, which operates a Hero Sushi outlet on the Gold Coast, and was penalised $150,000.
In addition, company directors and owners Deuk Hee “William” Lee and Hokun “Robert” Hwang have each been penalised $85,000, and payroll officers employed at Hero Sushi head office, Chang Seok “Tommy” Lee, Ji Won “Brian” Cho and Jung Sun “Jimmy” Kim, have been penalised $75,000, $16,000 and $30,000, respectively.
The Court determined that 94 workers, many of who are young overseas workers on international student and working holiday visas, across the three Hero Sushi outlets were paid as little as $12 an hour. This led to them being underpaid a total of $700,832.88 between April 2015 and July 2016.
The operators were also found to have falsified hundreds of pages of work records to reflect inaccurate hours of work and pay rates and presented them to the Fair Work inspectors who were investigating the outlets after a proactive auditing activity in 2016.
Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker welcomed the record penalties from the court, saying, “The penalties imposed against Hero Sushi are the largest ever achieved as a result of a Fair Work Ombudsman litigation and demonstrate that employers who deliberately exploit vulnerable workers will face serious consequences.
“Employers need to be aware that penalties for serious falsification of records have been increased since the conduct occurred in this case and any employer engaging in this sort of conduct today can face even higher penalties and sanctions in Court,” Parker added.
Parker said that the case should serve as a warning to any business contemplating underpaying migrant workers with potential language barriers or a reluctance to seek help due to their visa status. She also urged any worker, whatever their background, with concerns about how much they are being paid to contact her office.
In his judgment, Justice Geoffrey Flick said, “This is a case about greed and the exploitation of the vulnerable. Those in a position to ruthlessly take advantage of others pursued their goal of seeking to achieve greater profits at the expense of employees. In doing so, a great number of false documents were deliberately and repeatedly created with a view to concealing the fraud being perpetrated. Lies were told to cover up the wrongdoing. It was only when the ‘game was up’ that those responsible admitted their misdeeds.”
Judge Flick also noted, “The quantum of the penalties to be imposed has to be such that they are not seen as simply the ‘cost of doing business’ in the fast food industry.”
In addition to the penalties, Justice Flick also ordered the companies to display workplace notices detailing employee rights and entitlements and to have an external audit of its compliance with workplace laws within 28 days.
