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Employers Beware

When a married couple went to work for the Karriview Lodge near Margaret River in WA’s south, they were promised sponsorship for a visa to remain and work in Australia. However when they were terminated after several months in January 2017, they alleged they were not paid at all. The Industrial Magistrates Court upheld their claim for wages, but did not award the full claim. An appeal to the Federal Court was successful and they were awarded the entirety of the claim. The significant point on appeal was that as the employer had failed to keep time and wages records, it carries the onus of establishing that the hours claimed were wrong. This is because of Section 557C of the Fair Work Act 2009 provides that where an employer has failed to comply with record keeping obligations it carries the burden of disproving the employee’s claim. The moral of the case is to keep the records demanded by the law

See GHIMIRE V KARRIVIEW MANAGEMENT (NO 2) [2019] FCA 1627

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