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Katie Woolf spoke with Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now, as you have heard throughout the morning, we do
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: know that the Fair Work Combosman is making a surprise
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: visit well to restaurants, cafes and fast food outlets in
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  Speaker 1: popular food precincts around Darwin this week to check compliance
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: with workplace laws. Now joining me on the line right
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  Speaker 1: now is the Fair Work Ombardsman, Sandra Parker. Good morning
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: to you.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie, and to Nickols.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: Well he's cheeky Nick. He's on on the sports show
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: on the weekends. He loves having a bit of fun now, Sad, Yeah, Sandra, busy,
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  Speaker 1: busy times for your office and you're going to be
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  Speaker 1: in Darwin.
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  Speaker 2: We are, Yes, We've got some inspectors there now and
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  Speaker 2: we're doing audits across twenty two suburbs, focusing on fast foods,
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  Speaker 2: restaurants and cafes. So there's around fifty businesses that will
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: be facing audits. Our inspectors will be speaking with business owners,
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: with managers, with employees and ensuring that workers are being
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: paid correctly.
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  Speaker 1: And Sandra, what has prompted the surprise visits.
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  Speaker 2: We're acting on intelligence. We've received requests for assistance from
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  Speaker 2: a range of workers in those businesses. We've received anonymous
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  Speaker 2: reports that indicate this potential underpayment, and they were selected
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  Speaker 2: also because there's a high risk of non compliance in
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  Speaker 2: such businesses. So you have workers who are what we
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  Speaker 2: would call vulnerable. Often these are holders, young people, people
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  Speaker 2: who don't always have English as a first language, and
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  Speaker 2: people who don't understand their rights or where to get support.
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  Speaker 2: So when you get that combination of factors, it makes
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  Speaker 2: workers vulnerable to exploitation. And we've found that right across
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  Speaker 2: the country. We've been doing audits of what we call
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  Speaker 2: cheap eats or fast food, mostly right across Australia, and
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  Speaker 2: we've found nearly seventy to eighty percent non compliance across
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  Speaker 2: those businesses, which is incredibly disappointing.
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  Speaker 1: It is disappointing, you know, particularly if you're on the
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  Speaker 1: receiving end, If you are one of those workers, it
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  Speaker 1: would be a really tough situation to be in.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, and they even small amounts mean a lot to individuals.
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  Speaker 2: What we would say is that if workers employers, if
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  Speaker 2: they get it right and they work with us to
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  Speaker 2: pay the money back, and they say they will fix
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  Speaker 2: it and make sure it doesn't happen again, they will
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  Speaker 2: just pay the money back but unfortunately some of them
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  Speaker 2: if they do resist and are difficult about it, we
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  Speaker 2: will take them to court as well. So they just
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  Speaker 2: need to be aware of that. We've done that in
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  Speaker 2: other states, we've taken businesses to court and they do
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  Speaker 2: face pretty high penalties when they go to court. They
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  Speaker 2: can face up to thirty three thousand dollars for a
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  Speaker 2: for each of a compliance notice and sixty six over
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  Speaker 2: sixty six thousand for a record keeping breach.
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  Speaker 1: And so what is the process over the next couple
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  Speaker 1: of days, Sandra, Do those business have businesses sort of
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  Speaker 1: have any idea that your staff will be going going
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  Speaker 1: out and about or is this a bit of a
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  Speaker 1: warning to them or should they you know, should they
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  Speaker 1: be sort of aware at all times that the fair
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  Speaker 1: work Onbortsman's office could sort of attend their business and
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  Speaker 1: make sure that they are doing the right thing.
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  Speaker 2: Well, two things. Should they should be aware that we
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  Speaker 2: could be there at any time if we get a
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  Speaker 2: request for assistance from a worker, then we could turn
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  Speaker 2: up we have offices in Darwin. But also that did
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  Speaker 2: we target those areas where we expect there to be
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  Speaker 2: non compliance, So it's not a not a random thing.
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  Speaker 2: And some of them will be found to be paying correctly,
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  Speaker 2: and that's great, that's excellent. But yeah, it's something that
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  Speaker 2: they should be aware of and what we would advise
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  Speaker 2: all employers to do is to find out what rates
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  Speaker 2: they should be paying, make sure they pay them. It's
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  Speaker 2: a legal requirement, and we have a website Fairwork dot
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  Speaker 2: gov dot au that is very clear on all of this.
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  Speaker 2: They can go in and calculate what their workers should
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  Speaker 2: be getting. There's actually no excuse for them getting it wrong.
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  Speaker 2: It's actually much simpler than a lot of people think.
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  Speaker 1: So Andra, by the look of some of the information
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  Speaker 1: that we've seen as well, and you touched on this
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  Speaker 1: just a couple of moments ago, right around Australia, this
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  Speaker 1: is something that the Fair Work on Bardsman, Will, your
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  Speaker 1: office and yourself have been doing for some time now.
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  Speaker 1: And by the look of us, you know you've got
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  Speaker 1: a situation right around Australia where unfortunately this seems to
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  Speaker 1: be happening in every state.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, it's a real issue in this sector. So our
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  Speaker 2: job is to hold people to account, send messages that
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  Speaker 2: people will not get away with it, encourage workers to
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  Speaker 2: come forward to us and tell us when they think
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  Speaker 2: they're being underpaid, so we can investigate. And also for
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: customers to take an interest. If they're paying very cheap
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  Speaker 2: rates for food, they have to be suspicious of that.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, how is the worker getting paid properly if
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  Speaker 2: you're getting this incredible bargain on the food. So there's
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  Speaker 2: a range of things we can all do. It's awareness raising,
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  Speaker 2: education and we provide help. So if people phone us
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  Speaker 2: one three one three ninety four, they can. It's a
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  Speaker 2: free call and they can talk through any concerns they
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  Speaker 2: have and we'd be happy to hear from them.
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  Speaker 1: Well, fair work on Bardsman, Sandra Parker. We really appreciate
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  Speaker 1: your time this morning. Is there anything else we should
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  Speaker 1: know before we wrap up?
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  Speaker 2: No, just so people know we actually have inspectors operating now,
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  Speaker 2: so we didn't announce in advance which businesses we'd go through,
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  Speaker 2: but you will see them out and about, so be
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  Speaker 2: kind to them.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Sandra, thank you so much for your time this morning,
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  Speaker 1: and we will wait and hear the outcome for the
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  Speaker 1: Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 2: It's terrific. Thank you for your time. Thank you you too.
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  Speaker 1: That is the fair work Onmbardsmurden for Australia. Sandra Parker
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  Speaker 1: there and yeah they are out and abrout making those
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  Speaker 1: surprise visits to restaurants, cafes and fast food outlets right
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  Speaker 1: around Darwin this week to check compliance with those workplace laws. So,
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  Speaker 1: as you've heard then from Sandra, twenty two suburbs, including
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  Speaker 1: the city Palmerston, around fifty businesses will face those audits.