The former operators of Flow Cafe in Sydney’s Marrickville have been hit with a $44,148 penalty as well as back-pay orders after attending court.
The cafe, run by MT Infinity Pty Ltd, was issued with a compliance notice by the Fair Work Ombudsman to back-pay two workers a total of $14,148 in 2022.
The workers were employed for two and a half years from 2019 and later requested assistance from the Ombudsman after they formed the belief they were underpaid minimum wages and annual leave entitlements.
The workers were not back-payed by the cafe, which was run by sole operator Miah Golam Tareque at the time.
“When compliance notices are not followed, we will continue to take legal action to protect employees,” says Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth. “Employers who fail to act on these notices risk substantial penalties and back-pay orders.”
The court has now ordered the workers to be back-payed in full and has issued a $25,000 penalty to MT Infinity Pty Ltd as well as a $5,000 fine to Tareque.
“Employers should also be aware that taking action to improve compliance in the fast food, restaurant, and cafe sector is a priority for the FWO,” says Booth.
