An overseas worker employed as a trolley collector in NSW was underpaid $26,000 in less than four months, the Fair Work Ombudsman claims.
The South Korean man, in Australia on the 417 working-holiday visa, was allegedly often required to work long hours of unpaid overtime.
The 26-year-old, who spoke little English, worked as a trolley collector at the Woolworths supermarket site at Punchbowl in Sydney between January 12 and April 20 last year.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has launched legal proceedings against his employer, David Kim, and Mr Kim’s trolley-collection and cleaning company, Green World Management Pty Ltd.
It is alleged that Mr Kim generally required the employee to work from 9am to 10pm, seven days a week, and that he was generally paid a flat weekly rate of $701.25, based on a 38-hour week.
Mr Kim faces penalties of up to $10,200 per contravention of workplace laws, while Green World Management Pty Ltd faces penalties of up to $51,000 per contravention. The matter will be heard in the Federal Circuit Court in Sydney.
