Dawesville IGA and Cellarbrations has been ordered to pay more than $61,000 after being found guilty of not having workers compensation insurance.
Sun Shines Holdings Pty Ltd faced Mandurah Magistrates Court on Friday, charged with one count of penalty uninsured worker – fail to comply with section 160(1) or (2).
The prosecution told the court that between September 1, 2020 and November 7, 2021, the company engaged workers without the appropriate workers compensation insurance policy in place.
An investigation into the company took place after it was reported to authorities that the employer had hired and was running a business without a proper insurance policy in place.
According to the prosecution, the accused took out the correct insurance policy on November 8, 2021.
The court heard that on December 10, 2021, the company co-operated with authorities and had no records of holding the appropriate workers compensation policy prior to November 8.
Lawyer Mr Svirac said that this was a start-out business for his client after the previous owners went bankrupt.
“Your honour the company did consult with an insurance company early on and had faith that they had the right insurance policy in place,” he said.
“Once they realised they didn’t have the correct workers compensation insurance they took out the appropriate policy.”
He added that a maximum penalty of $1 million for such an offence would be ‘devastating’ for the small businesses.
While handing down her sentence, Magistrate Leanne Atkins said the company was lucky no one was injured while uninsured.
“While I note that no employees were hurt or injured in that time period, as an employer, they need to have faith that they are protected at work,” she said.
“You had a duty to make sure they are safe.”
The company was handed a global fine of $23,500 and ordered to pay $38,000 in insurance premiums.
Extracted from Perth Now
