By Katrina Seck -
Snapshot
- Under s 550(1) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) a person who is ‘involved in’ a contravention of a civil remedy provision is taken to have contravened that provision as an accessory.
- Fair Work Ombudsman v Blue Impression Pty Ltd & Ors [2017] FCCA 810 is the first case in which the Fair Work Ombudsman has named a third party accounting firm as an accessory.
The decision of Judge O’Sullivan in Fair Work Ombudsman v Blue Impression Pty Ltd & Ors [2017] FCCA 810 is the most recent
decision in a line of authority that has found individuals and corporate entities liable for contraventions of the Fair Work Act 2009 (‘FW Act’). This decision is of particular relevance given it is the first time the Fair Work Ombudsman (‘FWO’) has named a third party accounting firm as an accessory to the contraventions of its client.
Background
In 2014, the FWO identified Blue Impression Pty Ltd (‘Blue Impression’) as having contravened the FW Act when it failed to pay the minimum hourly rate of pay and entitlements owing to an employee, or provide meal breaks, as required under the Fast Food Award 2010 (‘the Award’).
After Blue Impression failed to remedy those contraventions proceedings were commenced by the FWO against Blue Impression and two other respondents, one of whom was Ezy Accounting 123 Pty Ltd ACN 105 317 691 (‘Ezy’), a tax and accounting business that provided services to Blue Impression.
The Federal Circuit Court proceedings which are the subject of this article concerned whether Ezy was liable as an accessory for its involvement in the admitted contraventions of the FW Act by Blue Impression.
