Victoria introduces anti-wage theft laws that could see companies fined more than $1 million   
ABC News
July 1 2021



Companies that deliberately underpay workers could face fines of more than $1 million under new wage theft laws coming into effect in Victoria today.

Key points:
Tough new penalties will apply for individuals and companies that deliberately underpay workers in Victoria
The law comes after a string of high-profile underpayment cases involving 7-Eleven, Woolworths, Bunnings and the ABC
The Wage Inspectorate Victoria will investigate wage theft and prosecute offenders
Individuals who deliberately underpay staff or dishonestly withhold wages could face up to 10 years' jail, or fines over $200,000. For companies, the possible fine can be as high as $1,090,000.

Waitress-turned-campaigner Harriet Leadbetter was underpaid more than $13,000 whilst working at a Melbourne cafe in 2015 and 2016.

Ms Leadbetter's unpaid wages were swiftly paid back when she alerted her employer to the discrepancy through a letter of demand she drafted with a union.

The new laws only make it an offence if the underpayment is deliberate, which Ms Leadbetter's former employer maintains was not the case.

Nevertheless, Ms Leadbetter hopes the change will encourage employers to be more careful with payroll.

"It puts the onus on employers to do the right thing," Ms Leadbetter said.

"It's their responsibility to make sure they pay their staff properly, these laws make that really clear."

During the years she was underpaid, Ms Leadbetter was sometimes down around $400 per week.

"That's a lot of money for anybody, let alone a young person who's trying to make rent in a city that she's just moved to," she said.

"It was pretty stressful."

Wage theft no longer 'business as usual'
The laws come off the back of a host of high-profile underpayment sagas.

In 2019, MAdE Establishment Group, the hospitality empire celebrity chef George Colambaris was a part of, backpaid $7.8 million in wages and superannuation after admitting to underpaying more than 500 current and former employees.


While heavier sanctions for underpaying employees may be appropriate, they won't alone lead to greater compliance.

Read more
And since 2015, operators of 7-Eleven stores have paid back more than $173 million to staff after an investigation began into wage theft at the company.

Woolworths, the ABC, Bunnings and The Red Cross have also faced underpayment issues in recent years.

After successfully recouping her unpaid wages, Ms Leadbetter became a political campaigner working on wage theft law reform.

She said the spate of high-profile cases had changed the way people thought about underpayment.

"Underpayment used to be seen as something that was business as usual, part of how you did business," she said.

"And now I think it's seen by the community as deplorable.

"Those kinds of cases helped demonstrate to the public this is an issue that's endemic across so many industries."

Victorian laws 'stronger' than federal ones
Earlier this year the federal government abandoned the bulk of a controversial industrial relations bill that included plans to criminalise wage theft.

A federal body, the Fair Work Ombudsman, can still pursue civil penalties for alleged underpayment, but a new Victorian body, Wage Inspectorate Victoria, has the power to recommend criminal penalties.

Inaugural commissioner Robert Hortle said businesses doing the right thing should not worry about the new legislation.


Robert Hortle says the inspectorate has the power to request documents and compel people to attend interviews.
"Employers who act with honesty and make inadvertent mistakes need not fear these laws, it's about deliberate and dishonest withholding of employee entitlements," he said.

But he warned the inspectorate held significant powers to investigate instances of alleged wage theft, should it be deemed necessary.

"We have the power to request documents, compel attendance at interviews and search and seizure powers," he said.

Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas said Victoria's new laws had "real teeth and greater enforceability" compared to the proposed federal changes.

"I don't believe that the protections that the Commonwealth were putting in place were adequate," he said.


Tim Pallas says businesses should consider themselves 'on notice' for wage theft.
Mr Pallas warned businesses that were still paying cash-in-hand or deliberately underpaying workers to take heed of the new laws.

"If they're paying people in a way that undermines award entitlements then they'll be breaching the wage theft laws," he said.

"Every business needs to recognise they're on notice today."

John Smith wrote on Jul 1^st, 2021 at 7:17pm:


From a Chow. I wouldn't trust those third-generation Cantonese fakers if I was you.

Anywhere with fish and chips on the kid's menu should be roundly avoided. The same applies to many so-called Thais or Korean sushi-dealers.

Not racist. Home-grown regional cuisine is not a race.