A Queensland man has been fined more than $100,000 after he admitted underpaying 144 employees working across a number of farms in the Lockyer Valley.
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Ram Kumar was penalised $17,000 and his labour-hire company Seasonal Farm Services Pty Ltd fined $85,000 after he admitted in a Brisbane court his company had underpaid 144 staff a total of $60,780 during the 2014/2015 financial year, according to the Fair Work Ombudsman.
The employees had been on 417 working holiday visas and were supplied by the labour-hire company to pick and pack fruit and vegetables from a range of farms in Queensland's Lockyer Valley.
At the time of the investigation, three of the workers were just 19 years old.
According to the Fair Work Ombudsman that investigated the company, a number of the employees were working for Seasonal Farm Services to help prolong their stay in Australia under their 417 visa requirements.
The employees were found to have been paid flat rates between $16 to $18.50 an hour when they were entitled to be paid $21.09 per hour.
The company was also found to have contravened record-keeping laws, including failing to keep records for a further 70 employees who were paid piece rates.
The lack of records prevented the Fair Work Ombudsman from assessing whether those 70 workers had received correct payments.
When handing down penalties to Mr Kumar, the judge said the lack of records was "extremely serious".
"The problem for the Fair Work Ombudsman was that there were no records as to the hours worked for the piece rate employees ... this made the investigation extremely difficult," he said.
The company had been investigated as part of a national Harvest Trail Inquiry conducted by the FWO aimed at the horticultural industry.
FWO Natalie James said the penalties should "serve as a warning" to any employer in the horticulture industry.
"We will do everything within our power to pursue any employer that thumbs its nose at their lawful obligations and exploits its workforce," she said.
The FWO recently completed an inquiry into the experiences of 417 working holiday visa-holders in Australia and found the requirement to do 88 days of specified regional paid work to qualify for a second-year visa was creating an environment where some operators were exploiting overseas workers.
A series of recommendations have been made to improve the regulatory framework, information, education, compliance and support.
