Court rejects financial difficulties as excuse for underpayments
The owner of a carpentry business in Perth was slapped with a $5,000 fine after he failed to adhere to a compliance notice.
Anthony Baker, owner of Integrity Built, was supposed to rectify more than $11,000 in underpayments to an apprentice carpenter. He was given a compliance notice by an industrial inspector ordering him to rectify the payment.
Baker, however, argued at the Industrial Magistrates Court that he was having financial difficulties.
But the court ruled that financial difficulty does not excuse employers from their obligations to comply with workplace laws.
In addition to the $5,000 penalty, the court ordered Baker to rectify the underpayments.
Lorraine Field, Executive Director of Private Sector Labour Relations, said compliance notices are meant to resolve complaints of wages underpayments and conditions of employment.
"Failing to comply with a compliance notice is a serious matter," Field said in a statement. "Mr. Baker has only made a bad situation worse by his continuing refusal to comply with his employment obligations."
