A worker has recovered $85,000 after the Fair Work Ombudsman found a Victorian seafood processing business underpaid him for 16 years.
The general hand, who assisted in loading and unloading stock, was paid between $9 to $11.50 an hour, and worked an average of 22 to 35 hours.
The Box Hill employer told the Fair Work Ombudsman the employee had been paid a lower rate because they believed he had a reduced capacity to carry out tasks, and had hired him out of compassion.
But the ombudsman said the employer had failed to check their legal obligations.
