Fair Work Ombudsman
Citation: FWO-2022-09-21-sl-lenz-penalty-media-release
At a glance
- Respondent
- S & L Lenz Pty Ltd
- Penalty
- $21,450
- Employees affected
- 1
What happened
S & L Lenz Pty Ltd, a former franchisee of an IGA supermarket in Byford, Western Australia, failed to comply with a Compliance Notice. The notice required the company to back-pay entitlements to a full-time manager employed between April 2013 and January 2010. The worker was underpaid approximately $35,000 in accrued annual leave and pay-in-lieu-of-notice entitlements. The Fair Work Ombudsman investigated after receiving a request for assistance from the affected worker.
What was decided
The Federal Circuit and Family Court imposed a $21,450 penalty against S & L Lenz Pty Ltd for failing to comply with the Compliance Notice. The company was also ordered to back-pay the worker’s entitlements, including superannuation and interest. The court found the non-compliance was deliberate and noted a lack of regret. Judge Lucev stated the penalty should serve as a warning to other employers.
What it means for employers
Employers must comply with Compliance Notices issued by the Fair Work Ombudsman. Failure to do so can result in significant court-imposed penalties and back-payment obligations. Demonstrating remorse or regret can be a factor in sentencing, but is not a guarantee against penalties.
What it means for employees
Employees who believe they have been underpaid or are not receiving their correct entitlements should contact the Fair Work Ombudsman for free advice and assistance. The Fair Work Infoline is available on 13 13 94.
Every statement above is drawn from the published decision. Read the original here:
https://www.fairwork.gov.au/newsroom/media-releases/2022-media-releases/september-2022/20220921-sl-lenz-penalty-media-releaseWant more cases like this?
FairWork Mate tracks Fair Work Ombudsman, Fair Work Commission and Federal Court decisions across Australia. The full dataset, with structured fields for awards cited, industry, penalty amounts and affected employee counts, is available through the Business API. FairWork Mate AI answers plain-English questions grounded on the full corpus.
Individual case summaries on this site are free. API + AI access is a paid product. Contact us for pricing or a 50% off first month.
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 by AI 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 →