They’re pretty fair, over at Fair Work Australia.

We’re up to- F

Plenty of ‘F-words’ (Yes, the double-entendre is intentional 😀) get used when HR is discussed, but I want to focus of FAIR WORK and, in particular, what happens when the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) brings a case to the Federal Court.


When you read the media release abut a Federal Court ruling on a matter brought by the FWO, they almost always refer to the business and/or person being prosecuted for either ‘failing to comply with a compliance notice’ or ‘failing to comply with an enforceable undertaking’. In other words, you’ve done the wrong thing and have either been given time to fix things OR have agreed to take certain steps to do so – but haven’t done so.

I have ZERO tolerance for wage theft. However, I like this system, because business will often make an error re: underpayment of wages or other matters without malice and have an opportunity to rectify things before we end up with a costly court case. Our courts have enough work already and there is a significant time lag involved also.

So, what do you think – is the system a good one? Or should there be punitive action right away, without an opportunity to set things right?