Ziad Andary of The Valley Pizza in Nuriootpa fined for the second time over wage theft

A former Barossa pizza shop owner has been slapped with a fine for underpaying a worker for the second time by the Fair Work Ombudsman.

A former Barossa pizza shop owner has been fined for the second time for refusing to back-pay a wage theft victim who was “largely homeless” during his time of employment.

The Fair Work Ombudsman fined Ziad Andary, who operated The Valley Pizza in Nuriootpa $4620 after he failed to comply with a compliance notice issued to back-pay a causal worker.

Mr Andary was also ordered to repay the underpayment in full plus interest and superannuation to the worker who was employed between December 2018 and August 2019.

The compliance notice was issued in July 2021 after a worker then aged 22 to 23 had been underpayed for late night and weekend work entitlements.

In the Federal Circuit Court, a judge found the employee was vulnerable and “largely homeless” during the employment period.

A former worker at The Valley Pizza in Nuriootpa was awarded back pay and its owner Ziad Andary fined for wage theft.

“Occasionally, as he had been kicked out of his previous accommodation, (the worker) would stay overnight at the business, in a backroom, due to him being largely homeless, otherwise he was couch surfing,” the judge said.

“Mr Andary is, in effect, thumbing his nose at the FWO and its legislatively justified attempts to ensure that an employee, employed in an industry which is rife with exploitation through underpayment, receives his just entitlements.

Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said: “We have no tolerance for deliberate noncompliance as occurred in this case”.

“It is particularly disappointing to again have to take legal action against this employer, and again secure penalties to ensure a worker receives all their lawful entitlements.

It’s the second fine against Mr Andary who was penalised $3500 in 2021 for failing to take action on a compliance order for failing to back pay entitlements owed to a different worker.