A former Brisbane restaurant operator has been penalised in Court for underpaying an overseas worker more than $5000.
Jasbir Kaur Ghag, who was a part-owner and manager of the Rue de Paris restaurant in Milton until it closed last year, has been penalised $2640 in the Federal Circuit Court.
Ghag was involved in underpaying a casual cook at the restaurant a total of $5355 between October, 2007 and April, 2008.
The employee, then in her mid-30s, was a Japanese national who was in Australia on a bridging visa at the time. She is now a permanent resident of Australia.
The employee was paid rates of between $9.25 and $11.70 an hour but was entitled to receive $18.43 an hour under the Agreement that applied to workers at the restaurant.
After the worker lodged a request for assistance, the Fair Work Ombudsman investigated and the worker was subsequently back-paid.
The Fair Work Ombudsman says she is increasingly concerned about the number of matters where visa-holders are underpaid by culturally and linguistically diverse business owners.
Source: FWO Media Release 31/10/2016
