The former manager of a Queensland resort restaurant faces court again, with the Fair Work Ombudsman alleging he has continued to underpay workers.
Jia Ning Wang, former manager of the Fire and Stone Restaurant at Tangalooma Resort on Moreton Island and the company that owns the restaurant, Auspac Hospitality Management, will face the Federal Circuit Court on charges relating to nine employees.
The Fair Work Ombudsman alleges Mr Wang and Auspac underpaid the mostly young overseas workers at the restaurant last year.
The ombudsman alleges breaches of record-keeping and pay slip laws with respect to those nine employees and breaches of pay slip laws with respect to a further seven employees.
The ombudsman also alleges the nine employees were underpaid a total of $2239 in minimum wages and entitlements between March and October 2017.
The alleged underpayment has been rectified.
Many of the employees were in Australia on working holiday visas.
The Fair Work Ombudsman alleges that Mr Wang was responsible for setting pay rates, issuing pay slips and approving and/or processing wage payment to employees during from March to August last year.
The ombudsman has twice previously taken to court Mr Wang and the former operator of the Fire and Stone Restaurant, Golden Vision Food and Beverage Services, a company that was owned by Mr Wang.
Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said inspectors investigated after receiving an underpayment allegation from an employee.
“It is very disappointing to commence legal proceedings against an individual for a third time for alleged breaches of workplace laws,” she said.
“Mr Wang has twice previously been penalised in court for significant breaches of workplace laws.”
Mr Wang faces penalties of up to $12,600 per breach and Auspac Hospitality Management faces penalties of up to $63,000 per breach.
The ombudsman also is seeking court orders requiring the company to commission workplace relations training for Mr Wang and other senior managers and to commission an audit of its compliance with workplace laws.
A directions hearing is listed in the Federal Court in Brisbane on February 19.
In 2016, Mr Wang was penalised $3500 and Golden Vision Food and Beverage Services was penalised $17,500 for paying a young Chinese backpacker $10 an hour.
In 2017, Mr Wang was penalised $20,366 and Golden Vision Food and Beverage Services was penalised $51,830 for underpaying a young international student and dismissing her by text message because she refused to accept below-award wages.
Shortly before the 2017 penalty was imposed, Golden Vision Food and Beverage Services sold the restaurant to Auspac Hospitality Management.
Golden Vision went into administration a short time later and was subsequently deregistered. The 2017 penalty remains unpaid.
Mr Wang is only the second individual to face three such legal actions.
