A former operator of two Cash Converters stores in Melbourne has been fined $16,000 over the underpayment of a worker.

The Federal Circuit and Family Court penalised Yarraville Business Pty Ltd for failing to heed to a compliance notice requiring it to calculate and back-pay entitlements it owed to a full-time worker.

The company employed the worker at the Yarraville store between July 2015 and April 2018 and at the Taylors Lakes store between May 2018 and March 2020, according to the Fair Work Ombudsman.

A Fair Work inspector issued a compliance notice after learning that the company paid the worker a flat rate of $21.76 per hour. This resulted in the underpayment of his minimum wage rates, overtime rates, annual leave entitlements and penalty rates for public holiday and weekend work.

The inspector believed the worker was covered by the Banking, Finance and Insurance Award 2010 for duties performed at the Yarraville Store and that the General Retail Industry Award 2010 applied to the worker for duties performed at the Taylors Lakes store.

“In my view, there is a need for general deterrence in this matter, to emphasise the importance of an effective compliance framework and at a sufficient level to impress upon other employers the importance of complying with the legal obligations owed to their employees,” said Judge Amanda Mansini.