The Fair Work Ombudsman recently conducted investigations into 51 fast food outlets in Brisbane, and the results have been staggering.
Inspectors targeted “cheap eats” venues in suburbs including Sunnybank, Sunnybank Hills, Macgregor, and Robertson, which were selected based on a range of intelligence sources.
In total, it was found 86 per cent of the businesses had breached workplace laws. The most common included failure to pay penalty rates, underpaying minimum wages, and record-keeping breaches.
“These disappointing findings in Brisbane are part of a national Food Precincts Program where we’ve often found that low-cost dining comes at the expense of workers’ lawful wages,” said Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth.
“Employers must follow all wage laws, including penalty rates, which generally serve as compensation for those working at times when most people are not. Those doing the wrong thing are being found out and held to account.”
Thirty-nine compliance notices were issued to businesses, resulting in the recovery of $447,339 for 365 employees. The highest underpayment amount from one business was $80,000, which was back-paid to 27 workers.
The Ombudsman issued 43 infringement notices totalling $162,045 to 28 businesses for pay slip and record keeping breaches.
The national Food Precincts Program has seen more than $1.2 million recovered for Brisbane food workers.
In 2023–24, the regulator recovered $5.6 million for more than 3,000 underpaid fast food outlet, restaurant, and café workers working across Australia.
