The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) is set to conduct surprise audits of at least 50 restaurants, cafes and fast food outlets in popular food precincts on the Gold Coast.
The move comes after the FWO received intelligence reports, including those reported in its anonymous reporting tool, of potential breaches by businesses in the area.
Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said that the audits will focus on employers that have sponsored visa holders, who are usually vulnerable to exploitation.
“With several tertiary institutions surrounding Southport and Mermaid Beach, a large number of students – including international students – live and work in the area,” Parker said. “We know that visa holders can be vulnerable due to a lack of knowledge of workplace laws or willingness to speak up.
“In [these] audits, inspectors will assess employment records for compliance with workplace laws,”Parker added. “We will hold employers to account if they are not meeting their lawful obligations and consider enforcement action where appropriate. We will also educate workers about their workplace rights.”
The FWO has stated that protecting vulnerable workers such as students and visa holders, and improving compliance in the fast food, restaurant and café sector were its ongoing priorities.
“Our targeted food precinct activities across various cities have uncovered high levels of non-compliance,” Parker said. “We found that cheap eats in these precincts have come at the expense of workers receiving their lawful wages. Any workers with concerns should contact the FWO for free advice.”
Figures indicate that fast food, restaurant and cafe businesses accounted for 50 per cent of the Fair Work Ombudsman’s new litigations in 2019-20. Visa holder workers were involved in 44 per cent of all litigations last year and the FWO secured penalties of $1877,162 from 13 litigation decisions in this sector.
Earlier this year, the FWO also released its findings of audits targeting popular food precincts in Melbourne and Brisbane, as well as of broader national food and retail sector audits, which recovered a total of $1,212,727 in unpaid wages for 1351 workers. The rate of non-compliance was 88 per cent in Brisbane and 84 per cent in Melbourne.
