Fair Work Ombudsman v Revolution Martial Arts Pty Ltd & Anor [2013] FMCA 125 Fitness Centre Ethics

In a recent case before the Federal Magistrate's Court, substantial fines have been imposed on the former operators of a Melbourne martial arts and fitness centre which paid young trainees as little as 73 cents an hour in Fair Work Ombudsman v Revolution Martial Arts Pty Ltd & Anor [2013] FMCA 125.

The penalties followed an investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO), which found that 17 young workers had been underpaid $67,320 between 2009 and 2012. The bulk of the underpayments related to 12 young trainees, aged between 15 and 21, who were completing Certificates in Sports or Fitness.

There were also unauthorised deductions from their wages for items such as club membership and administration fees, which resulted in them receiving actual payments of between 73 cents and $2.74 an hour. They were entitled to between $8 and $16 an hour.

The Fair Work Ombudsman stated, “Young workers can be extremely vulnerable because they are often not fully aware of their workplace rights and can be reluctant to complain, so we do not hesitate to take action to protect them."

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