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The Fair Work Ombudsman is taking the former operators of a Werribee real estate agency to court for underpaying a worker and subsequently producing a false or misleading document, where they could face more than $100,000 in penalties if found guilty.
Legal action has been commenced in the Federal Circuit Court against the former operators of the now-defunct Stockdale & Leggo Werribee real estate agency.
Jenni International Pty Ltd was the operator of the south-west Melbourne agency until November 2019, with Pui San Lee named as the sole director, the FWO reported.
Stockdale & Leggo has since clarified that it no longer has a relationship with Jenni International Pty Ltd, and has not done so since 16 June 2020, "following a number of issues, including alleged non-compliance with the company's ethical code of conduct as well as breaches of the franchise agreement".
According to the network, Jenni International Pty Ltd now operates under the brand Preferred Estate Agents in Werribee.
A statement from the FWO revealed the supervisory body had issued a compliance notice to Jenni earlier this year after “forming the belief the company had failed to pay a former employee, who managed rental properties, for her final two days of work and some personal and annual leave entitlements”.
The FWO is now alleging that the company failed to comply with the compliance notice that required it to calculate and rectify underpayments to the employee.
The Ombudsman then alleged that after a Fair Work inspector wrote to Jenni International informing the company it had failed to comply, the company and Ms Lee went on to breach workplace laws by providing the inspector with a false or misleading document – the company, and Miss Lee, had provided the inspector with a medical certificate purporting to show Ms Lee had been seen in a Malaysian hospital.
However, the Ombudsman alleges Ms Lee was actually in Australia at the time.
The FWO said it made several attempts to secure voluntary compliance before commencing legal action, in line with its “proportionate approach to regulation during the COVID-19 pandemic”.
Jenni International faces penalties of up to $31,500 for the alleged compliance notice breach and a penalty of up to $63,000 for the alleged false document breach.
Ms Lee faces a penalty of up to $12,600 for the alleged false document breach, and a penalty of up to $6,300 for her alleged involvement in the compliance notice breach.
The FWO also reported that it would be seeking court orders requiring Jenni International’s compliance with the compliance notice, which would see the underpayment rectified in full alongside superannuation and interest payments.
A directions hearing is listed in Melbourne’s Federal Circuit Court for 4 December 2020.
Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said that the regulator would continue to enforce workplace laws and take businesses to court where lawful requests are not complied with.
She highlighted that “where employers do not comply with our requests, we will take appropriate action to protect employees”.
“Under the Fair Work Act, Compliance Notices are important tools used by inspectors if they form a belief that an employer has breached workplace laws.”
She flagged that the courts can order the business to pay penalties in addition to back-paying workers.”
“Any employees with concerns about their pay or entitlements should contact the Fair Work Ombudsman for free assistance,” Ms Parker concluded.
Stockdale & Leggo has also highlighted that Jenni International Pty Ltd owed the network $97,000 in franchise and marketing fees.
According to Stockdale & Leggo CEO Charlotte Pascoe, the company had made numerous efforts to remedy the situation of non-compliance through performance management, however Jenni International executives rejected all proposed solutions.
“We can’t have franchisees bring our industry and strong brand into disrepute, negatively impacting a company that has built a reputation in the market over 80 years,” she said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Grace Ormsby
Grace is a journalist across Momentum property and investment brands. Grace joined Momentum Media in 2018, bringing with her a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) from the University of Newcastle. She’s passionate about delivering easy to digest information and content relevant to her key audiences and stakeholders.
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