Fair Work Ombudsman v Golden Vision Food and Beverage Services Pty Ltd

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) brought proceedings against Golden Vision Food and Beverage Services Pty Ltd (Golden Vision) in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. The dispute concerned Golden Vision's alleged contravention of the *Fair Work Act 2009* (Cth) (the Act) by failing to pay two employees their minimum entitlements, specifically their minimum hourly rates and overtime entitlements, as prescribed by the relevant modern award. The FWO sought pecuniary penalties against Golden Vision for these alleged breaches.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether Golden Vision had contravened section 45 of the Act by failing to pay the minimum wage rates and overtime entitlements to its employees, as required by the *Fast Food Industry Award 2010*. The Court was required to determine if the amounts paid by Golden Vision to the employees were sufficient to meet their entitlements under the award, and if not, whether this constituted a contravention of the Act.

Judge Jarrett found that Golden Vision had indeed contravened section 45 of the Act. The Court reasoned that the employer bore the onus of proving that it had paid the correct entitlements. In this instance, Golden Vision failed to provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the payments made to the employees met the minimum award rates, including overtime. The Court applied the principle that employers must ensure compliance with minimum employment standards and that a failure to do so, without sufficient justification or evidence of correct payment, will result in a finding of contravention. Consequently, the Court ordered Golden Vision to pay pecuniary penalties totalling $10,800 for the contraventions.