The husband-and-wife duo behind a Sandy Bay Vietnamese restaurant have been fined almost $70,000 for underpaying two of their family member employees who they had helped relocate to Australia from Vietnam.
Xuan A Tran and her husband Quang Manh Dong, the owners of ‘Vina Yummy Kitchen’, have admitted to underpaying Tran’s sister by $18,683.69 and her sister’s husband by $156,316.31 – a total of $175,000 – over a four-year period between 2015 and 2019.
The Fair Work Ombudsman imposed fines of $45,532.80 on Tran and $23,990.40 on Dong, resulting in a combined penalty of $69,523.20 for violating “minimum rates for ordinary hours, public holiday and overtime rates and leave entitlements”.
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth revealed that Tran had also provided “false records” to Fair Work inspectors during their investigation and that both she and Dong had “breached record-keeping and pay slip laws”.
“All employers in Australia need to pay their employees in line with Australia’s workplace laws – or they risk facing significant consequences,” Booth said.
“Employers also need to be aware that taking action to protect vulnerable workers, including visa holders, and improve compliance in the fast food, restaurant and café sector are among our top priorities.”
The employees have since been fully back-paid and both Tran and Dong are now required to complete online courses for employers and undergo training in workplace relations laws.
Speaking to Pulse on Tuesday morning, an emotional Tran said her business had been targeted with multiple attacks since the issue was first brought to light and insisted that she was simply ‘trying to help’ her sister.
