Fair Work Ombudsman v Joys Child Care Ltd & Anor (No 2)

In *Fair Work Ombudsman v Joys Child Care Ltd & Anor (No 2)*, Judge Altobelli of the Federal Court of Australia considered penalties for Joys Child Care Ltd and its director, Ms. Joy, for contraventions of the *Fair Work Act 2009* (Cth). The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) had issued compliance notices to the company and Ms. Joy, requiring them to rectify underpayments of wages to two employees. The company and Ms. Joy failed to comply with these notices, leading to the FWO commencing proceedings seeking penalties.

The central legal issue before the Court was the appropriate penalty to impose on Joys Child Care Ltd and Ms. Joy for their failure to comply with the compliance notices. This involved determining the seriousness of the contraventions, considering the purpose of penalties under the *Fair Work Act*, and assessing the relevant factors for penalty imposition, including the need for deterrence and the culpability of the respondents.

Judge Altobelli reasoned that the failure to comply with a compliance notice is a serious matter, as such notices are a crucial enforcement tool for the FWO. The Court found that both the company and Ms. Joy were directly responsible for the non-compliance. In determining the penalty, the Court considered the objective seriousness of the contraventions, the need to deter future contraventions by the respondents and others in similar positions, and the fact that the underpayments had not yet been rectified. The Court also took into account the respondents' limited capacity to pay a significant penalty.

Consequently, Joys Child Care Ltd was ordered to pay a penalty of $10,000, and Ms. Joy was ordered to pay a penalty of $2,000. The Court also ordered that the penalties be paid to the Commonwealth.