Albion St Pizza Hut hit with massive fine after staff pay row
A former Warwick business has been hit with a mammoth fine after Fair Work found they failed to backpay two employees.
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A former Warwick business has been hit with a mammoth fine after Fair Work found they failed to backpay two employees.
Pizza Hut Warwick, located on Albion St, has been slapped with a massive $28,021 fine thanks to the Fair Work Ombudsman.
The Federal Circuit imposed the penalty to franchisees IFITS Food Co, which operated the outlet until late 2021.
The court found that IFITS Food Co failed to comply with compliance notices, which required the business to calculate and backpay entitlements to two workers it employed at the Pizza Hut store in part-time roles between March 2020 to October 2021, shortly before they stopped being franchisees.
One employee was an assistant manager and the other, aged 17 at the time of employment, was in a kitchen hand and customer service role.
In addition to the penalty, the court has ordered the former franchisees to backpay the workers in full, plus applicable superannuation applying to one worker and interest for both.
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said business operators that fail to act on Compliance Notices need to be aware they can face penalties in court on top of having to backpay workers.
“When Compliance Notices are not followed, we are prepared to take legal action to ensure workers receive all their lawful entitlements,” Ms Booth said.
The Ombudsman investigated after receiving requests for assistance from the affected workers.
Judge Gregory Egan found that there was a need to impose a penalty that would deter the company and others from similar conduct in future.
“There is no evidence that the respondent has taken any action to change its recalcitrant behaviour,” Judge Egan said.
It’s not the first time the store has gotten into strife with locals, in 2020, the store randomly closed with residents placing orders, not receiving a single slice, and failed to be repaid.
In 2021, the store also shut up and appeared abandoned, with a Pizza Hut spokesperson saying the venue has shut and been removed from the online store directory.
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Originally published as Albion St Pizza Hut hit with massive fine after staff pay row
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