The Fair Work Ombudsman has commenced legal action against the former operator of a Perth security company, alleging he committed 'serious contraventions' under the Fair Work Act through his involvement in underpaying workers more than $900,000.
Facing court is Sergey Stanislavovich Navasardyan, who owned and operated the now deregistered company Griffon Alpha Group Pty Ltd.
The regulator alleges that Mr Navasardyan was involved in underpaying 44 security guards his company employed a total of $911,292 between December 2019 and May 2022.
Some of the workers were visa holders from non-English speaking backgrounds.
The Fair Work Ombudsman alleges that because the workers were underpaid knowingly and systematically, the contraventions meet the definition of 'serious contraventions' under the Fair Work Act, which attract 10-times the maximum available penalties that would ordinarily apply.
The FWO discovered the alleged breaches when auditing Griffon Alpha Group as part of surprise inspections of security businesses in Perth in 2021.
Griffon Alpha Group employed the workers on a casual basis to work at various venues and major events including sporting events, concerts, shopping centres, night clubs and commercial construction sites.
It is alleged the FWO discovered the company generally paid the workers flat rates of $21 to $25 per hour regardless of when they performed their duties, which was insufficient to cover a range of entitlements owed under the Security Services Award 2010 and 2020.
This allegedly resulted in underpayment of the workers' casual loadings, penalty rates for weekend and public holiday work, overtime rates and shift allowances.
It is alleged that more than half of the total underpayments relate to work performed on Sundays, when workers were entitled to rates ranging from $49 to $51 per hour.
Individual alleged underpayments range from $33 to $78,787, with 22 of the employees allegedly underpaid more than $10,000. The alleged underpayments remain outstanding.
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said her agency was prepared to use all powers available to hold employers to account for alleged systematic exploitation of vulnerable workers.
"Employers who allegedly deliberately fail to provide their workers large parts of their lawful wages risk facing significant penalties, which have never been higher," Ms Booth said.
"Paying workers unlawfully low flat rates is simply unacceptable. In this case, it is alleged some workers were, for example, paid less than half their owed hourly rates on some Sundays.
"Employers should also be aware that taking action to protect vulnerable workers, like visa holders, is an enduring priority for the Fair Work Ombudsman.
"Any employees with concerns about their pay or entitlements should contact the Fair Work Ombudsman for free advice and assistance. They can do this in their own language."
The Fair Work Ombudsman is seeking penalties in court. Mr Navasardyan faces penalties of up to $133,200 per contravention for multiple alleged contraventions.
A directions hearing is listed in the Federal Circuit and Family Court in Perth on 11 February, 2025.
The Fair Work Ombudsman filed 146 litigations against employers involving visa holder workers, and secured nearly $23 million in penalties in cases that have included visa holder workers, in the seven financial years to June 2024.
