“Queensland labour hire provider in court”

The Fair Work Ombudsman has commenced legal action against a Queensland-based labour hire provider and its manager for allegedly knowingly providing false and misleading records to a Fair Work Inspector.

Facing the Federal Circuit and Family Court are Korserv Pty Ltd (Korserv), which has provided labour hire to farm operators in Queensland, and the company’s manager Janghwan Choi.

As part of a proactive auditing campaign in 2023, the Fair Work Ombudsman attempted to conduct an audit of pay rates being provided to workers on a strawberry farm in the Glass House Mountains.

After the farm manager informed Fair Work Inspectors that it had engaged Korserv to provide labour hire services to the farm, the inspectors requested time and wage records from Korserv.

It is alleged that in response, Korserv and Mr Choi knowingly breached the Fair Work Act by providing false records, including pay slips, falsified payment evidence from Korserv’s bank account, and piecework agreements …

It is alleged Mr Choi subsequently admitted that Korserv had subcontracted two other companies who were responsible for paying the wages of workers at the farm and that he had sent money to those subcontractors to pay the workers…