Tribunal orders $230k payout after noodle bar owners rip off worker
Two noodle bar bosses have been ordered to pay $230,000 to a former underpaid employee. But the worker doubts he’ll ever see it – and says the situation is rife in Chinatown.
A Chinatown employer who underpaid a worker by $25,000, forged pay slips and then lied about it in court has been condemned by the state’s employment tribunal and ordered to pay $230,000 to the man.
The worker told The Advertiser his case was not unique and Chinatown workers were paid as little as $8 an hour. He also doubts he will see any of the money because Duo Duo Noodle Bar has closed.
The man, who did not want to be identified, was employed for two years, earning $10 an hour while working up to 70 hours a week.
“I studied cookery for three years, so I knew what the standard of pay should have been, but in Chinatown it is impossible to get that salary,” he said.
“Everyone is underpaid in Chinatown. I am not sure about other businesses but in restaurants, just about everyone is underpaid.
“Compared to other restaurants, the noodle bar was easier so that is why I stayed there.”
He said that when he started working in Chinatown, some employers were offering as little as $8 an hour, making the noodle bar a well-paying workplace by comparison.
After leaving the noodle bar in 2017, the worker went to the Young Workers Legal Service seeking help to retrieve his stolen wages.
But the process was slow, dragging through the South Australian Employment Tribunal for more than a year.
“Since the case hasn’t finished I have had to stay here, so I have pretty much wasted a year,” the worker said.
The noodle bar, which was popular with international students, closed on January 27 this year, with owners Jian Lin and Rose Qian, citing “financial issues” as the reason.
Mr Lin and Ms Qian claimed in court that the worker was employed as a waiter, not a chef, and had been paid $17, still less than the minimum wage which is now $19.49.
However, Employment Tribunal deputy president Michael Ardlie concluded the pay slips presented to the court had been fabricated and the pair’s testimony was trying to cover their tracks.
He also said he suspected the pair had colluded when preparing their stories.
“The (owners) took deliberate steps to disguise the contraventions by the issue of false and misleading pay records,” Mr Ardlie said.
“(Neither of the owners) have accepted any responsibility or shown any remorse or contrition for the wrong done to the applicant.”
The worker’s lawyer told the tribunal that underpayment of workers, particularly in the hospitality industry, was rife around Australia.
Young Workers Legal Service co-ordinator Rachael Seaforth said wage theft was a big problem for young workers, many of whom did not know their employment rights.
“We can only deal with wage theft within the constraints that the law provides and that in itself can create problems with access to justice,” she said.
“In general, young people aren’t aware of their entitlements and where to find that information.
“Hospitality has been an industry which pops up not only within our service but in other research as well as being fairly problematic.”
The company itself was ordered to pay $150,000 in damages, while Mr Lin and Ms Qian each faced a $40,000 penalty. They were also ordered to repay almost $30,000 in lost wages and superannuation.
However, the worker is not convinced he will ever see the money.
“The money hasn’t gone to my account, so the case hasn’t finished,” he said.
Ms Seaforth said that once the employment aspect had concluded, a new court battle in the civil jurisdiction could begin to get the damages and lost wages finally paid.