The Fair Work Ombudsman has urged agriculture sector employers to prioritise compliance with the existing workplace laws.
The reminder comes as the FWO continues its investigation of agriculture businesses across the country, which has so far yielded $316,860 in fines for employers and $72,301 in recovered wages on behalf of underpaid workers.
The regulator has thus far investigated 447 businesses in regional hot spots across Australia since its agriculture strategy began in December 2021 and has issued 98 Infringement Notices for payslip and record-keeping breaches, as well as 48 Compliance Notices.
The large majority (86) of notices were issued to labour hire entities though only 12 growers were fined.
Recently, Fair Work inspectors targeted Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and Lockyer Valley, as well as the Riverina in New South Wales. The FWO reported that some regions remaining stubbornly non-compliant (Riverland, Mildura and Coffs Harbour) and others disclosing much-improved workplace practices (Wide Bay, Moreton Bay, Stanthorpe and Manjimup).
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth reiterated that the regulator would continue to prioritise the agriculture sector in 2023-24 because of its reliance on vulnerable workers such as visa holders and its use of complex supply chains.
“With very high numbers of visa holders in the workforce, too many agriculture employers are breaching record-keeping and pay slips laws, which are the bedrock of workplace compliance,” Booth said. “It’s a red flag if workers are not issued pay slips, can’t identify their employer and are paid cash-in-hand by individuals seemingly unrelated to the apparent employing entity. We see this all too often in multi-level supply chains.
“Breaches of record-keeping and pay slips laws often indicate increased risks of underpaying workers as well as non-compliance with other Commonwealth laws,” Booth added. “Employers should access our free resources and get it right, or they will continue to face fines, backpayments and legal proceedings.”
Pieceworker-related contraventions were a factor in ten of the Compliance Notices, with 25 of the Infringement Notices were in relation to an employer’s failure to make and keep records of hours worked by a pieceworker.
“Part of our agriculture focus is keeping a close eye on pieceworker-related compliance following last year’s Horticulture Award changes,” Booth said. “Overall across the sector, while there is room for improvement, we are pleased to have met many compliant growers who have been happy to see us out helping to enforce a level playing field among the crops and fields across the country.”
The Ombudsman assured that the office will continue to target unannounced hot spots this year and next year.
“Labour hire entities and growers are on notice,” Booth warned. “They may get a visit from Fair Work Inspectors very soon – and we will take enforcement action where appropriate.”
