The owners of two fast-food franchise stores including one at Rosebud Plaza could be hit with almost $250,000 in fines for allegedly breaching child employment laws.
The Donut King operator will face 70 criminal charges this month after the state’s child employment watchdog Wage Inspectorate Victoria found it had breached the Child Employment Act between 1 January and 6 July last year.
It has been alleged the stores, including Donut King in Berwick, which trade under Minto Nominees Pty Ltd, had employed three children under the age of 15 without a licence on 30 occasions and failed to ensure children were supervised by someone with a working with children clearance.
Other alleged breaches, which were revealed by the Inspectorate on 12 February, included employing children for longer than three hours per day during a school term; employing children for longer than six hours per day during school holidays, and failing to provide a rest break of at least 30 minutes after every three hours of work.
The maximum penalty for each offence is $47,422.
The matter has been listed for a mention in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 21 February.
“The Wage Inspectorate will make no further comment while the matter is before the court,” the Inspectorate said in a statement.
Child employment laws restrict when businesses can employ children and how long they can work.
This included during a school term where children can be employed for a maximum of three hours a day and 12 hours per week.
During school holidays, children can be employed up to six hours a day and 30 hours a week.
