The Australian arm of a global SIM card provider has been pulled up by the Fair Work Ombudsman for the second time for allegedly underpaying an employee.
The company was hit by allegations by an administrative employee that they were underpaid for overtime hours worked between 2012 and 2015. The employee received a base salary between $33,867 and $37,742 per year for 40 hours of work per week, along with overtime hours.
It is alleged that the employee worked over 600 overtime hours and was entitled to approximately $16,736, but was only paid $11,472. Fair Work noted that the alleged underpayment had since been fully rectified.
Acting Ombudsman Kristen Hannah said Fair Work was commencing legal action against Lycamobile for failing to put in place adequate corrective processes since being penalised in 2013.
The company was previously hit with a $59,400 fine for exploiting migrant workers, but has faced litigation from other government watchdogs. In 2014, Lycamobile was formally warned by the Australian Communications and Media Authority for overcharging 12,000 customers, and last year, the company was accused of failing to correctly handle its complaints.
Hanna said it was of "grave concern" that Lycamobile had failed to learn from its past mistakes.
“We make it clear that while we understand oversights sometimes occur, we take a dim view of those who make repeated errors and will not hesitate to pursue serious enforcement action when we come across these allegations,” she said.
Lycamobile faces a $54,000 penalty for each breach. Fair Work is also seeking orders that would require Lycamobile to provide its managers with workplace relations compliance training, and to undertake an external audit for any other underpayments.
The matter will go to court in February 2018.
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