MELBOURNE: Fashion retailers at Chadstone Shopping Centre and Dandenong Plaza are among those fined after being caught up in a surprise blitz by the Federal Workplace Ombudsman recently.
The unnamed retailers, who were audited by the workplace ombudsman late last year, were fined more than $8000 between them after being found guilty of breaching workplace laws.
The audits found that 82 employers - one fifth of those audited - were failing to comply with their legal obligations.
Workplace Ombudsman executive director Michael Campbell said most breaches related to non-compliance with record keeping and pay-slip requirements but inspectors also found several instances where staff were being underpaid.
In the case of the fashion retailers, all underpayments were the result of workers missing out on their hourly, overtime and penalty rates.
Campbell said because affected employers had been quick to voluntarily rectify all the breaches, it would not pursue any prosecutions.