MasterChef judge and culinary celebrity George Calombaris has been fined $200,000 after investigations have found he has underpaid more than 500 employees to a total of $7.83 million.
This isn’t the first time that chef and restaurant owner George has been caught up in controversy, as it was revealed that his restaurant and hospitality chain had underpaid staff by $2.6 million in 2017.
After rightful criticism, George has made a deal with the Fair Work Ombudsman, admitting to underpaying his current and former staff and agreeing to become an ambassador who will hereon speak and educate about the restaurant industry and workplace compliance.
Watch the MasterChef judge and his underpaid staff members prepare a signature salad below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We97I1nnEeA
The four-year investigation into George Calombaris has spanned across restaurants Hellenic Republic, The Press Club (now closed) and Gazi. It was uncovered that there were a variety of breaches in relation to the handling of money. These include failure to pay minimum rates and overtime.
More than $7.83 million has been back-paid to over 500 current and former employees of the establishments, with a further $16,371 being back-paid to 9 employees of food chain Jimmy Grants.
Under his new agreement, Calombaris is required to implement new payroll systems to each of his venues ensuring improved wages for current employees. He has since made an apology to all former and current staff that have been affected by this situation.
You can read the formal apology letter here.
Watch George give a tour of his restaurant, Hellenic Republic, featuring victims of wage theft, below:
There is much speculation as to whether Calombaris will still be involved in MasterChef with many calling on Network Ten to drop him. After all, if you can’t handle the heat, stay out of the kitchen. And if you can’t pay your staff, well, you best just cook at home.
Network Ten has come out amidst this ordeal and has shown their support for George saying:
“George has the support of Network Ten. We will not be making any further comment.”
There is much debate as to whether the legal system has handled this correctly in terms of Calombaris’ wage theft, with many demanding harsher punishment for the chef.
