Fair Work Ombudsman
Citation: FWO-2022-04-04-azman-penalty-media-release
At a glance
- Respondent
- Award Kitchens
- Penalty
- $2,664
- Employees affected
- 1
- Awards cited
- MA000077
What happened
the Applicant, who operates Award Kitchens in Concord, Sydney, failed to comply with a Fair Work Ombudsman Compliance Notice. The notice required him to back-pay entitlements to a former employee who worked full-time between July 2018 and August 2020. The worker was underpaid minimum wages, weekend overtime, and did not receive annual leave entitlements upon termination. the Applicant rectified the $21,026.27 underpayment and $1,030.79 in superannuation after legal proceedings began.
What was decided
The Federal Circuit and Family Court imposed a $2,664 penalty against the Applicant for failing to comply with the Compliance Notice. The court found the delay in back-payment caused a 'significant loss' to the worker. Judge Manousaridis stated a penalty was needed to deter other employers from disregarding Compliance Notices. The Fair Work Ombudsman emphasised the importance of complying with Compliance Notices and encouraged employees with pay concerns to seek assistance.
What it means for employers
Employers must act promptly on Compliance Notices issued by the Fair Work Ombudsman. Failure to do so can result in court-imposed penalties in addition to back-payment obligations. Ignoring Compliance Notices can lead to significant financial and reputational consequences.
What it means for employees
Employees who believe they have been underpaid or are not receiving correct entitlements should contact the Fair Work Ombudsman for free advice and assistance. The Fair Work Ombudsman can investigate and help ensure workers receive their lawful entitlements.
Want this applied to your situation?
Reading the decision is free. FairWork Mate goes further — it reads the full case library and applies precedents like this one to your specific facts, citing the cases as it reasons. General information, not a guaranteed outcome or legal advice.
Every statement above is drawn from the published decision. Read the original here:
https://www.fairwork.gov.au/newsroom/media-releases/2022-media-releases/april-2022/20220404-azman-penalty-media-releaseWant more cases like this?
FairWork Mate tracks Fair Work Ombudsman, Fair Work Commission and Federal Court decisions across Australia. The AI advisor answers plain-English questions grounded on the full corpus — awards cited, industry, penalty amounts and affected employee counts — with a citation to the underlying decision on every answer.
Individual case summaries on this site are free. The full FWC and Federal Court library behind every advisor answer is on Pro.
FairWork Mate AI
This is one decision. Pro reads all of them.
Free case pages cite the top 250 decisions. Pro opens the full Fair Work Commission and Federal Court library, cross-references your own situation against it, and cites the decision behind every answer — plus document upload, so it can read your letter or contract line by line. 150 questions a month, cancel anytime.
Just need today sorted? A Day Pass is 25 questions over 24 hours, no account. Get a Day Pass — $4.99
Get notified on new Fair Work cases
Free email alerts when we publish new underpayment decisions, penalty orders, and workplace law updates.
Free forever. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
This summary was drafted from the published decision and reviewed before publishing. It is general information, not legal advice. For your specific situation, speak to the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) or a qualified lawyer. About these summaries & corrections