Fair Work Ombudsman targets Canberra restaurants
Fair Work inspectors will audit up to 100 Canberra restaurants between now and February, 2012, as part of a new Australian Government education and compliance campaign.
Inspectors will check that employers are paying staff their full entitlements, including minimum pay rates and penalty rates, and are complying with record-keeping obligations.
In the ACT, restaurants and cafes are among the main sources of underpayment complaints to the Fair Work Ombudsman and calls to the Fair Work Infoline.
The Fair Work Ombudsman recovered a total of A$384,000 back-pay for 224 underpaid workers across all industries in the ACT last financial year. Nationally, the Agency recouped $26.7 million for 17,360 employees.
Fair Work Ombudsman Nicholas Wilson said a key focus of the Canberra restaurants campaign is making employers aware of the free resources available to assist them to understand and comply with workplace laws.
The Fair Work Ombudsman’s website – www.fairwork.gov.au – has a number of tools and resources to assist business-owners calculate the correct pay for their employees.
Free documentation is available Online for employers to use when hiring, managing and dismissing staff, including letters of engagement and probation, timesheet and pay slip templates, leave application forms, a self-audit check list and workplace complaint form.
