The Fair Work Ombudsman has secured significant penalties amounting to $179,221 after uncovering underpayments at two United Petroleum-branded outlets in Tasmania. The penalty stems from the exploitation of four migrant workers, who were collectively underpaid $20,230 over just two months in 2020-2021.
KLM Foods Pty Ltd, which operated the Sandy Bay and Kingston outlets in Hobart, was hit with a hefty penalty of $135,143.
According to Fair Work, Loveleen Gupta who is the sole director of KLM Foods and manager of Vizaan Pty Ltd was also penalised a total of $44,078 for his involvement in the unlawful practices.
The four workers, including young visa holders from India and Bangladesh, were employed as console operators and paid flat hourly rates ranging from $16 to $23, well below the minimum wages, overtime, and penalty rates they were entitled to. One worker, aged 19-20 at the time, was severely underpaid.
While KLM Foods and Vizaan rectified the underpayment after the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) began its investigation, a further violation occurred when one worker was forced to pay back $6,353 in an unlawful cashback arrangement.
In addition to the underpayments, KLM Foods was found to have provided false pay slips and timesheets, breaching the Fair Work Act and related record-keeping laws.
Judge Karl Blake condemned the blatant disregard for the workers’ rights and described the requirement for a cashback payment as “particularly unpalatable.”
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth emphasised the seriousness of underpaying visa holders, stressing that all employees, regardless of visa status, are entitled to the same pay and conditions.
Booth warned employers that providing false records will lead to significant penalties, noting that the FWO’s investigators would rigorously test the authenticity of such records.
The case was part of a broader investigation into United Petroleum outlets across Australia. The FWO also filed cases against multiple other operators, uncovering further non-compliance with Australian workplace laws. Despite some of the companies going into liquidation, the FWO’s audits have led to the recovery of over $6,500 for workers across 20 United Petroleum outlets.
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