Sydney businessman, Kit Antony Lam allegedly paid a Filipino nanny an equivalent of $2.33 an hour for 12 months.
Mr Lam paid the nanny Php 40,000 per month into her Philippine-based account, an equivalent of $12,574 Australian dollars for 12 months of work.
The 26-year-old nanny was allegedly required by her employer to work between 88 and 106 hours each week between May 2016 and 2017.
The businessman’s wife, Ming Wei (Tiffanie) Tong will also face court for allegedly requiring the nanny to work unreasonable additional hours beyond 38 hours a week.
The worker was allegedly recruited directly from the Philippines and lived with the Sydney couple and their children for a year.
Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said the Filipino worker was “vulnerable to exploitation given she was new to Australia, resided with Mr Lam and his family, and did not know what her workplace rights were.”
The FWO claims the nanny was covered by the Miscellaneous Award and was underpaid base rates and penalty rates, including those owed for early morning and night hours, overtime hours and public holidays.
Under the Miscellaneous Award, the employee was entitled to at least between $17.29 and $18.21 per hour, and up to $37.82 for overtime hours, according to FWO.
If the court decides the worker was not covered by the Miscellaneous Award, she should have been covered by the national minimum wage and entitled to between $17.29 and $17.70 for every hour worked, leading to a total underpayment of $85,834.
The FWO is pursuing full back-payments plus interest, and for penalties to be imposed.
ALSO READ
