Operation Crimson involved the Fair Wok Ombudsman (FWO) and the ATO inspecting about 25 fast food outlets, restaurants and cafés in the Gold Coast, to check they are paying employees correctly, and complying with record-keeping, tax and super laws.
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth discuss Operation Crimson in the media grab. More information is available in the media release: Eateries grilled as FWO and ATO inspect Gold Coast food outlets.
- Anna Booth, Operation Crimson video download (MP4, 64.3MB).This link will download a file
- Anna Booth, Operation Crimson audio download (MP4, 4.12MB).This link will download a file
The Fair Work Ombudsman has joined forces with the Australian Taxation Office for surprise inspections of Gold Coast fast food outlets, restaurants and cafés.
Fair Work Inspectors have been on the ground, talking with employees and employers, and checking records and payslips, to make sure employees are getting paid correctly. Some of the inspections will be repeat visits for us, to check whether there’s been improvement in compliance since our last visits. Our investigations are ongoing.
The fast food, restaurants and cafés sector is a priority for the Fair Work Ombudsman. Many workers can be vulnerable to exploitation, such as visa holders and young people, many of those kind of workers are employed in this sector.
If we find non-compliance we’ll be holding employers to account.
The Fair Work Ombudsman’s surprise visits to the Gold Coast are part of our national program of inspections in this sector. In cities across the nation we’ve found too often that low-cost dining comes at the expense of workers’ lawful wages.
These Gold Coast inspections, known as Operation Crimson, are part of our continuing work with other regulators to detect, disrupt and deter non-compliance with workplace laws nationally.
We urge workers with concerns about wages and entitlements to reach out to us. They can call us on 13 13 94 or make an anonymous tip-off online via fairwork.gov.auExternal Link
Employers in the fast food, restaurants and cafes sector should access our free tools and resources to ensure they’re meeting their obligations, or indeed they can contact us directly for free advice.
Images
A high-resolution headshot of Fair Work Ombudsman Anna BoothExternal Link is available from the Fair Work Ombudsman Newsroom.