LONGFORD plumbing business, Clear Plumbing Services Pty Ltd and its sole director, Cameron Lear, will face court today (July 19) following legal action by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO).
A hearing is listed in the Federal Circuit and Family Court in Melbourne for Friday, July 19, 2024.
Mr Lear has been accused of underpaying an employee and failing to comply with a Compliance Notice to back-pay the worker’s entitlements, but he labelled the FWO’s accusations as “ludicrous”.
Mr Lear, who has been a plumber for more than two decades, has described the whole saga as “a government agency overreaching”.
“We need people like Fair Work to make sure people aren’t being ripped off… I just think it’s rubbish they can make accusations and basically create their own narrative,” he told the Gippsland Times.
The FWO is seeking financial penalties – Mr Lear faces a penalty of up to $9390, and Clear Plumbing up to $46,950, according to the Statement of Claim seen by the Gippsland Times. The regulator is also seeking a court order requiring Clear Plumbing Services to comply with the Compliance Notice including calculating and rectifying any underpayments, plus interest and superannuation.
FWO had released a press release on this matter on their website on July 2, which was sent to the Gippsland Times, and subsequently published in the July 5 issue. Over a number of days prior to publication, the Gippsland Times attempted to contact Mr Lear for comment, but he did not respond until afterwards.
Asked to comment on the case as he understands it and on the information in the Statement of Claim, Mr Lear said the individual who made the complaint to FWO was doing work experience as a student of Sale College, who was eventually employed as an apprentice. He says they were never a casual or part-time employee, and was paid $50 a day during work experience, even though the company was only obligated to pay $5 a day.
Mr Lear said he didn’t completely understand the complaints made against him, but believed that FWO was expecting the worker to be paid casual rates if he was employed as such.
“And they’re saying that there’s a 30 per cent per hour difference in what (they) were paid from when they started the apprenticeship to when they finished up working with me. How do you think we determine someone’s wage? We use the Fair Work calculator to do that. So I don’t even understand how they’re saying that,” Mr Lear said.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve punched in something wrong when they’ve done the calculations.
“But as a business, all we can do is follow the guidelines that were given. They haven’t been clear in anything they’ve been claiming.”
Mr Lear blasted FWO for “publicly shaming” him, believing they’re trying to use him as “an example”.
“Who writes someone’s first and last name, and the company they’re related to and makes allegations against them that haven’t even been proven?” he said.
“Is it guilty until you prove yourself innocent, or is it innocent until proven guilty? There’s payslips lodged to the ATO (Australian Tax Office). There is no disputing on what they have or haven’t been paid.
“They could have made multiple inquiries… and they’re basically using standover tactics with me because I’ve said no. We are quite thorough in what we do – we have been for this reason.
“Why should I be defending myself when I’ve followed their guidelines?”
Asked to respond to what Mr Lear said, the FWO sent the Gippsland Times a statement.
“The Fair Work Ombudsman routinely publishes media releases to announce the commencement of new legal actions, consistent with the principles outlined in FWO’s Media Policy,” the spokesperson said.
“As stated in the FWO’s Statement of Claim for this matter and the associated media release, we allege that a Fair Work Inspector issued a Compliance Notice to Clear Plumbing Services in August 2023 after forming a belief the worker was underpaid minimum wages owed under the Plumbing and Fire Sprinklers Award 2020 when he was employed by Clear Plumbing Services between April 2021 and April 2022.
“The Compliance Notice required Clear Plumbing Services to calculate and back-pay the worker’s entitlements by September 2023. Clear Plumbing Services also had the option of applying to the court to have the Compliance Notice reviewed (as outlined in FWO’s Compliance and Enforcement Policy).
“Compliance Notices are a non-punitive mechanism for the Fair Work Ombudsman to address alleged contraventions of the Fair Work Act without having to commence court proceedings. If a company or person does not comply with a Compliance Notice, litigation is another enforcement mechanism available to the FWO. In this matter, the FWO alleges that Clear Plumbing Services did not comply with the Compliance Notice and did not make any application to have the Compliance Notice reviewed.
“As Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth states in our media release for this matter, the Fair Work Ombudsman will continue to enforce workplace laws and take businesses to court where lawful requests are not complied with: ‘Where employers do not comply, we will take appropriate action to protect employees. A court can order a business to pay penalties and take steps to comply with a Compliance Notice including calculating and back-paying entitlements. Employers also need to be aware that taking action to protect young workers is among our top priorities. Any employees with concerns about their pay or entitlements should contact the Fair Work Ombudsman for free assistance.'”
The Statement of Claim states that Mr Lear was contacted multiple times through email and phone, but he said some of those emails ended up in spam and that he never saw any voicemails on his phone. He acknowledges he didn’t respond to every correspondence.
“I couldn’t figure out what they’re saying. They were just basically saying, ‘this is what we’ve calculated, we’re issuing you with a non compliance certificate, you have to pay it’. And I said, ‘I’m sorry, I don’t believe that’s correct. And these are the reasons why’,” he said.
Mr Lear employed a bookkeeper to help with this matter, who found that it would cost more to fight this in court than to pay what the FWO said he owed.
“And I just said that doesn’t sit with me. I don’t think that brings any justice or anything. I’m basically saying I’m guilty for something I haven’t done,” Mr Lear said.
“I’ve been asked to produce things to back up my story. I don’t have a story. I’m doing something wrong – they need to be able to tell me where I’m doing wrong and what I’ve said wrong.”
Mr Lear plans to represent himself in court, saying he doesn’t want to spend money on a lawyer.
A Department of Education spokesperson declined to comment on Mr Lear’s case or provide any information on their work experience policies.
“The Department of Education and Sale College will be cooperating fully with any requests for information from the Fair Work Commission, and have no further comment to make at this time,” the spokesperson said.
