Fair Work Ombudsman fines popular Taiwanese restaurants $4 million
Din Tai Fung, which has restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne, has been fined $4 million by the Fair Work Ombudsman for exploiting vulnerable workers in what it said was a “calculated scheme to rob employees”.
Action was taken against popular Taiwanese restaurants DTF World Square, which employed workers at Din Tai Fung restaurants and Selden Farlane Lachland Investments, which employed people at the Emporium store.
The Federal Court found the companies breached the Fair Work Act on multiple occasions, even creating fake records to hide their wrongdoing.
Penalties of $1.99 million were imposed to DTF World Square and $1.89 million to Seldon Farlane Lachlan Investments.
Then fines didn’t end there, with senior staff members at DTF World Square also fined. General manager Hannah Handoko was ordered to pay $92,232 in penalties, while HR co-ordinator Sinthiana Parmenas was fined $105,084.
Speaking of the behaviour, Justice Anna Katzmann said the companies “deliberately deprived the employees of their legislated entitlements”.
“It was deceitful and unscrupulous,” Justice Katzman said.
“It involved a calculated scheme to rob employees of their hard-earned wages and deceive the authorities.”
17 employees, mostly casual visa holders from Indonesia and China on student or employer-sponsored visas, were underpaid $157,025 under the Restaurant Industry Award 2010.
There were five contraventions, (deemed serious under the Protecting Vulnerable Workers law) related to false records and underpayment.
Serious contraventions were not alleged against Handoko or Parmenas.
“We welcome these penalties that demonstrate the serious nature of the offending by the respondents in this matter,” Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said.
“Their actions resulted in vulnerable migrant workers being underpaid hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“The court has characterised the conduct of Din Tai Fung as a calculated scheme to rob employees of their hard-earned wages.
“Lawful minimum rates apply to all employees in Australia and they are not negotiable.
“All workers in Australia have the same rights, regardless of nationality and visa status.”
Jonathan Jackson, 11th April 2024
