The operator of an Asian grocery store in Adelaide recently warned about non-payment of wages and poor record-keeping has again been found to be underpaying its staff by thousands of dollars.
In the latest case, seven staff – five of them international students – were short-changed more than $23,000 – some of it for shifts they worked, but were never paid for.
As a result, the Fair Work Ombudsman has required KYB Pty Ltd – trading as Mariana Market, on Grote St – to reimburse all outstanding entitlements and immediately overhaul its workplace practices.
The seven staff – three of them aged between 18 and 20 – will also get a written letter of apology from the company acknowledging its “sincere regret” for breaching federal workplace laws and giving a commitment that it won’t happen again.
In November, 2012 the company received a Letter of Caution from the Fair Work Ombudsman after it assessed a complaint from an employee.
At that time, KYB was required to reimburse more than $456 to an employee who had not been paid for more than 56 hours’ work over a five-day period.
It was also put on notice about the need to comply with its record-keeping, pay-slip, minimum wage and minimum engagement of casual employee obligations.
The Fair Work Ombudsman received additional complaints against KYB last year and subsequently identified that seven more employees had been underpaid over $23,200 for work performed between March and June, 2013.
The individual underpayment amounts ranged from $1813 to $5924 – and included reimbursement for up to 12 hours’ “unpaid work trials” required by the employer of each staff member.