She worked a full month, earned nothing, then got fired for asking
She worked for a month. She was never paid a cent.
A Melbourne finance company and its sole director have been ordered to pay nearly $200,000 in penalties after a court found they refused to pay a visa-holder worker any wages - then sacked her when she asked where her money was.
The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia handed down the penalty decision on October 7, ordering AFSL Group Pty Ltd to pay $173,160 and the company's director to pay $26,000 for breaching workplace laws.
The worker, an Indian national on a temporary visa, started with AFSL Group in May 2022. She was covered by the Banking, Finance and Insurance Award 2020. English was not her first language. By her own account, she had no real understanding of her entitlements under Australian employment law.
She was not paid at all. Not a reduced rate, not a late instalment - nothing. The entire $6,884.10 she was owed in wages, leave, public holiday pay, notice pay and contractual entitlements went unpaid.
After a month of working for free, the worker sent two messages to the director and an email to a manager asking when she would be paid.
The response came the next day. The company told her that her "resignation is accepted" and that the money owed "will be paid to you at the earliest possible moment."
She had not resigned. She told the company so. It did not matter. AFSL Group informed her she was "no longer an employee of AFSL Group...
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