Date: 14 Oct 2018

Source: The Age

The high-profile restaurant business fronted by celebrity chef Neil Perry will pay back staff $1.6 million after a Fairfax Media investigation exposed the widespread flouting of workplace laws.

Rockpool Dining Group said it would make the top-up payments after a review of its payroll and rosters. The $1.6 million covers just one financial year, 2017/18.

Chief executive Thomas Pash said the group was "committed to lifting industry standards".

Earlier this year, a Fairfax Media investigation uncovered evidence that permanent chefs at Rockpool were required to do excessive unpaid overtime, a practice stretching back many years.

That pushed their wage well below the minimum rates of the award, the wages safety net.

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