Claim Vic massage parlour ripped off staff

A Victorian massage parlour is accused of underpaying a Chinese worker $13,522 by only paying her a proportion of services performed.

Austop Natural Therapy and Supplies Pty Ltd, which operates Yin's Chinese Massage in Bacchus Marsh and formerly ran a massage parlour under the same trading name in Ballarat, is being hauled before the Federal Circuit Court by the Fair Work Ombudsman.

The ombudsman alleges between December 2016 and July 2017, Austop paid the employee a percentage of the total price of each massage she performed at its Ballarat business, rather than paying her an hourly rate of pay according to her entitlements.

As a result, she was allegedly underpaid ordinary hourly rates, overtime rates, weekend and public holiday penalty rates, superannuation and annual leave entitlements.

The company also allegedly failed to ensure she did not work on more than six consecutive days.

The worker, who was in Australia on a work and holiday visa, contacted the FWO herself.

The FWO will also allege Austop Natural Therapy and Supplies breached workplace laws by failing to issue pay slips to staff.

It will pursue accounting firm Keith Golding and Associates for providing inspectors with records, including pay slips, they knew to be false or misleading.

A directions hearing is listed in the Federal Circuit Court in Melbourne on April 30.