The Fair Work Ombudsman has secured more than $75,000 in penalties and back-pay orders in court, against the former operators of a Gami Chicken and Beer franchise in Melbourne.
The penalties, totaling $76,387, were imposed in the Federal Circuit and Family Court for breaches affecting young and migrant workers.
Vanna Taing and Brandon Bui operated the Gami Southland outlet at the Westfield Southland Shopping Centre in Cheltenham, and have been penalised $15,000 and $12,500, respectively. Gary Lai, who performed a human resources role for the business, has been penalised $4,000.
The penalties were imposed in 2024 in response to Taing and Bui’s involvement in using false records, failing to keep proper records, and failing to comply with a compliance notice which required the back-payment of 16 kitchen and wait staff. Lai was penalised for his involvement in the false records breach.
To of the underpaid workers were aged 17 at the time, and a number were workers and visa holders from the likes of Vietnam and Korea.
The Federal Court has now ordered, in a concluded appeal, Taing and Bui to jointly pay the workers a total of $44,887 in entitlements still owing to them. This is in addition to the penalties.
The FWO first investigated Gami-Southland as part of surprise audits of Gami Chicken and Beer stores across Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth in 2019.
During that investigation, Taing, Bui, and Lai were involved in knowingly providing false pay slips to a Fair Work Inspector. The payslips falsely claimed three workers were paid higher rates than they actually had been.
The FWO commenced a second investigation into Gami-Southland in 2021 after receiving requests for assistance from workers.
Taing and Bui were issued with a compliance notice in 2022, after the FWO formed the belief that 16 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 workers were underpaid minimum wages, penalty rates, casual loadings, annual leave entitlements, and payment-in-lieu-of-notice-of-termination entitlements.
Federal Circuit and Family Court Judge Amanda Mansini in a 2024 judgment found that the failure to comply with the Compliance Notice was serious and deliberate. Judge Mansini also found that the false records breach was “especially serious” as it was a deliberate attempt to prevent the FWO from discovering any non-compliance with workplace laws and minimum conditions of employment.
It meant there was a need to impose penalties to deter the trio from further breaches.
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth says employers that use false records and fail to act on Compliance Notices need to be aware they face a strong risk of legal action.
“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,” says Booth.
“Using false records is always unacceptable and our experienced inspectors will detect them. Employers also need to be aware that taking action to protect young workers and visa holders and improve compliance in the fast food, restaurants and cafés sector are among our top priorities.
“Any employees with concerns about their pay or entitlements should contact the Fair Work Ombudsman for free assistance.”
Photography by Rachel Claire / Pexels
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