Highlights:
- The Federal court has ordered an Indian origin couple to pay $210,000 in penalties.
- The court found that Mr and Mrs Singh failed to pay minimum rates to the workers.
- The couple operated a petrol station on the NSW Central Coast.
The former operators of a petrol station on the NSW Central Coast, Kamaldeep Singh and his wife Uma Singh, have lost their appeal against the Federal Circuit Court’s decision ordering them to pay penalties of $120,000 and $90,000 respectively for their conduct relating to a Metro Petroleum petrol station they formerly operated on the Pacific Highway in Doyalson.
The Federal Circuit Court had penalised the couple after the Fairwork Ombudsman took them to court last year.
Source: Public Domain
“Mr and Mrs Singh were the director and manager respectively of Sinpek Pty Ltd (in liquidation), which underpaid the two employees, a male and a female, a combined $52,722 between May 2015 and their termination in August 2016. The female employee was paid nothing for her first three months’ work,” the FWO said in a statement.
The male worker was underpaid $24,607 and the female $28,114.
The court found that Mr and Mrs Singh were involved in Sinpek’s failure to pay minimum rates to the workers for ordinary hours, penalty rates for overtime, weekend and public holidays, shiftwork loadings and various leave entitlements.
“There was also a failure to provide payment in lieu of notice for termination and record-keeping and pay slips laws were also breached,” the court found.
Sinpek entered voluntary liquidation in July 2019, about three weeks before the scheduled Federal Circuit Court liability and penalty hearing. Mr and Mrs Singh later appealed the penalty decision. The Federal Court has now dismissed the appeal.
The workers, employed by Sinpek as console operators, were Indian nationals from non-English speaking backgrounds.
According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, the two workers were on bridging visas and applying for Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme visas through Sinpek, before having their jobs terminated in August 2016.
Federal Circuit Court Judge Sandy Street said the workers were vulnerable due to both their visa and economic circumstances, and that Mr and Mrs Singh “exploited those vulnerabilities knowingly, and to their own advantage and for their own benefit”.
The conduct of the respondents in the circumstances of the present case is at the most serious end of the spectrum in respect of each of the contraventions.
“[The employees] moved interstate under the inducements of [Mr and Mrs Singh] and… were placed in a position of threat of return to India or being deported if they failed to accommodate the exploitation by [Sinpek, Mr Singh and Mrs Singh],” Judge Street said.
All underpayments have been rectified. The Federal Court also noted that Sinpek Pty Ltd no longer owns or operates the Metro Petroleum petrol station in Doyalson.
Are you being underpaid?
The Fair Work Ombudsman provides free advice and assistance to all workers to help them understand their rights.
Migrant workers and visa holders, including international students, have the same workplace rights as Australian-born workers.
If you think you're being exploited at work, or are an employer or employee seeking assistance, visit the www.fairwork.gov.au or call the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 for free advice and assistance about their rights and obligations in the workplace. A free interpreter service is available on 13 14 50.
