Former operators of Gami Chicken & Beer in Southland slapped with $76k in fines
The former operators of a Gami Chicken & Beer outlet in Melbourne’s southeast have been fined $76,000 for underpaying staff and handing inspectors bogus pay slips to cover it up.
The former operators of a Gami Chicken & Beer outlet in Melbourne’s southeast have been slapped with more than $76,000 in penalties and back-pay orders after doctoring fake pay slips and underpaying young and migrant staff.
The franchisees of the Westfield Southland Shopping Centre store in Cheltenham, Vanna Taing and Brandon Bui, knowingly handed over falsified pay slips to Fair Work inspectors in a bid to conceal the wage breaches, the Federal Court found.
They were found to have used false records and failed to keep proper records and comply with a compliance notice, which required the back-payment of 16 kitchen and wait staff.
The underpaid workers included two young staff, aged 17 at the time, and a number of visa holders, including from Vietnam and Korea.
The Ombudsman first started investigating the Southland outlet as part of surprise audits of Gami Chicken & Beer stores across Melbourne, Sydney and Perth in 2019.
They then commenced a second investigation in 2021 after receiving requests for assistance from employees who had worked at the restaurant.
A Fair Work inspector issued a compliance notice to the owners in October 2022 alleging kitchen and wait staff had not been paid any wages and entitlements for work performed over a three-week period before their franchisee licence was terminated in 2021 and the restaurant closed.
The Ombudsman secured a total of $76,387 in fines and back-pay orders in the Federal Circuit and Family Court against the ex-operators.
Mr Taing and Mr Bui were penalised $15,000 and $12,500 respectively, and ordered to jointly back-pay the workers $44,887 in entitlements, and Gary Lai, who performed a human resources role for the business, was fined $4000.
Federal Circuit and Family Court Judge Amanda Mansini said the false records breach was “especially serious in that it was a deliberate attempt to prevent the (Fair Work) from discovering any noncompliance with workplace laws and minimum conditions of employment”.
In her 2024 judgment, Judge Mansini said there was a need to impose penalties to deter Mr Taing, Mr Bui and Mr Lai from further breaches and to “send a message to other employers about the need for compliance”.
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said taking action to protect young workers and visa holders in the fast food, restaurants and cafes sector was a top priority.
“When employers use false records to try to thwart our investigations and when compliance notices are not followed, we will continue to take legal action,” Ms Booth said.
“Using false records is always unacceptable and our experienced inspectors will detect them.”
