Unlawful wage deductions were found at a Goulburn Valley fruit grower during a surprise visit from Fair Work Ombudsman inspectors in 2024.
A Goulburn Valley fruit growing company underpaid workers by nearly $127,000 over seven years.
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According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, RJ Cornish & Co Pty Ltd unlawfully deducted wages from 112 employees between July 2017 and June 2024.
The breach was discovered after a surprise inspection by the ombudsman’s office in March 2024.
The inspection was part of a nationwide program to check workers were receiving the right wages and entitlements at farms and orchards.
According to the ombudsman’s office, RJ Cornish admitted that it failed to pay current and former employees in full, by wrongly deducting $126,859 from their wages.
Deductions were made for the hire of power ladders used in fruit-picking ($85,953), fuel related to the power ladders ($40,556) and sprinkler damage ($350).
The deductions were not permitted by the Fair Work Act as they were not principally for the benefit of the employees and were not otherwise lawfully authorised.
The company has since ceased making such deductions.
“Affected employees were employed on a casual basis as fruit pickers, with 39 of the underpaid employees being on working holiday visas,” the announcement from the ombudsman’s office stated.
“The company has made almost all back-payments, with $123,249 back paid to 108 current and former employees.
“Individual back-payments owed ranged from $21 to $9881, with the average being $1132.”
RJ Cornish, established in 1957, grows peaches, pears, apples, lemons and oranges at orchards in the Cobram area.
The company declined to comment for this story.
RJ Cornish signed a legally binding agreement with the ombudsman to improve its workplace compliance.
Under the agreement, the company must back-pay the remaining $3610 for four employees who have not yet been located by making an application to pay the amount into the Commonwealth Consolidated Revenue Fund.
An additional $5500 contrition payment will also be made to the fund.
The company is also required to engage an independent auditor to check that workers are receiving the correct pay.
Employers in the agriculture sector are on notice that they must meet all their workers’ lawful entitlements, Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said.
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth.
Photo by
PAUL HERMES
“The agriculture sector is a focus for the FWO, as many vulnerable workers such as visa holders and young people are employed at farms and orchards,” Ms Booth said.
“The FWO has recovered more than $1.5 million in unpaid wages for 755 agriculture sector workers since December 2021.
“In this matter, we welcome the company’s co-operation with our investigation, and their commitment to both rectify the deduction amounts in full and put in place a range of measures to ensure current and future hard-working employees are paid everything they are owed.
“Deductions from wages are lawful in only a limited range of situations, and employers must understand those laws or they can be caught out.”
In the past year, the Federal Court imposed significant penalties against Victorian agriculture sector employers for breaches after litigations filed by the FWO.
That includes more than $150,000 in penalties against both A&G Lamattina & Sons Pty Ltd and Lotus Farm.
Employers and employees can visit fairwork.gov.au or call the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 for free advice and assistance.
An interpreter service is available on 13 14 50.
An anonymous online report tool, including options to report in multiple languages, can be found here: tinyurl.com/4b7k5ddy
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