07-19-2009, 12:17 PM
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On The Rails
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Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 1
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Racing Blogger Fined Over Unpaid Workers
Credit: theage.com.au
Quote:
Michael Bachelard
July 19, 2009
Richard Reid at his Camberwell car wash business. Photo: Ken Irwin
WELL-KNOWN Melbourne racing tipster Richard "The Mailman" Reid has been handed the biggest fine ever for a Victorian business prosecuted by the Fair Work Ombudsman for not paying workers at his Camberwell car wash.
Mr Reid's "The Mailman" blog boasts that he stands up "for the little man". He delights in baiting Racing Victoria and its stewards and in writing about racing's integrity department, a frequent target of his attacks. Mr Reid has said he was the person who would "try to make them accountable".
But in a judgment in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday, Mr Reid, of Malvern, was fined $207,900 for underpaying or completely failing to pay the wages of five employees aged 18 to 62.
The total of the underpayments was just $4511, but the magistrate fined Mr Reid (pictured) close to the maximum, castigating him for his failure to pay back the amounts he owed, for failing to co-operate with investigators and the court and for his lack of contrition.
The ombudsman alleged there had been 23 other complaints by former employees of Mr Reid's business, then known as Royal Melbourne Car Wash, now Carwash.com.au, over a number of years. But it's understood Mr Reid denies these claims.
Most of the offences for which he was found guilty happened in 2006. In a typical case, Lachlan Thompson was 18 when he went to work as a casual car washer. Mr Reid made Mr Thompson use his own car, without reimbursement, to travel to customers' houses to work.
After two weeks of work without pay, Mr Thompson said he wanted to quit. Mr Reid told him he needed to work out two weeks' notice — the first time this had been mentioned. Mr Thompson did so, but was not paid for that time, either.
He was owed $851.52 when he left.
Magistrate Kate Hawkins said Mr Reid had taken the "significant benefit" of free labour from his employees and that he tried to "take advantage of (their) youth and naivety".
After the ombudsman began prosecuting, he agreed to pay his former employees by instalment but failed to make the first payment.
He later paid the full amounts but only on the steps of the court on the day he was facing a penalty hearing. Mr Reid's excuse was that "he felt overwhelmed by the pressures of running his business".
"Mr Reid gives the clear impression to the court that were it not for these prosecution proceedings and the matter reaching hearing he would not have paid," the magistrate wrote in her judgment.
She added that the case involved a "deliberate, underhanded and opportunistic exploitation of casual employees by an employer … without regard for its legal obligations".
The fine was high because the community needed to be warned and Mr Reid's "recalcitrant attitude" made it crucial that he "get the message".
Mr Reid declined to comment. The court heard the car wash business made losses in two of the past three years and Mr Reid earned wages of only $20,000 from it.
In his blog, Mr Reid recently wrote: "I'm not interested in making money for myself, I just want my loyal band of followers to be frequently flush with funds."
Fair Work Ombudsman executive director Michael Campbell said the judgment made clear that "want-to-be slave merchants will be rooted out and prosecuted".
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