Fair Work orders back pay

 

50 dollar notes, moneyNinety four employees of Hobart store, Daci & Daci Bakers have been back paid a total of $77,921 after the Fair Work Ombudsman found they had been underpaid between December, 2011 and May, 2013.

The company is owned by husband and wife Cheryl and Naser Daci, who operate the wholesale and retail bakery/restaurant in Murray Street, Hobart.

The underpaid former and current staff worked as food and beverage attendants, kitchen hands and cooks, and were underpaid amounts ranging from under $10 to $19,000.

The Fair Work Ombudsman investigated Daci & Daci in March last year after receiving a number of complaints from former employees.

It found the company had failed to pay the correct rates of pay under the Restaurant Industry Award 2010.

Employees were underpaid their minimum hourly rate of pay, casual loadings, penalty rates for weekends, evening and public holiday work, and overtime rates.

Fair Work Ombudsman inspectors also identified contraventions relating to the issuing of payslips, staff rostering and record keeping practices.

As an alternative to litigation, Daci & Daci has entered into an Enforceable Undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman.

The terms of the undertaking required the company to apologise to each of the affected staff and rectify all outstanding entitlements.

Daci & Daci also agreed to undertake specialist workplace relations training and engage independent auditors to review and report on the company’s compliance with workplace laws once a year for the next three years.

Enforceable Undertakings were introduced by legislation in 2009 and the Fair Work Ombudsman has been using them to achieve strong outcomes against companies that breach workplace laws without civil court proceedings.

“We use Enforceable Undertakings where we have formed a view that a breach of the law has occurred, but where the employer has acknowledged this and accepted responsibility and agreed to cooperate with us and fix the problem,” Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James said today.

“Many of the initiatives included in EUs help to build a greater understanding of workplace responsibilities, motivate the company to do the right thing and help them avoid the same mistakes again.

“It also means we can resolve matters more speedily than if we proceed down a path towards litigation, often achieving outcomes, such as training sessions for senior managers, which are not possible through the Courts.”

Copies of all Enforceable Undertakings are available on the Fair Work Ombudsman website.

 

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