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Former trucking director fined for RDO rip-off

A former trucking director has been fined $5000 for denying at least 40 drivers paid rostered days off

May 24, 2011

A former trucking director has been fined $5000 for denying at least 40 drivers their paid rostered days off, but those affected are unlikely to receive the entitlements.

The Federal Magistrates Court fined Colin Alexander Neave, who ran Corporate Consulting before it went into liquidation in June last year, after he admitted denying paid days off between March 2006 and December 2009.

The drivers, who transported general freight between various distribution centres in NSW, were entitled to the rostered days off under their workplace Award.

Some were individually denied more than 20 rostered days off. The Fair Work Ombudsman claims the drivers are owed almost $20,000, with individual amounts ranging from $253 to $2,187.

A spokesman for the Ombudsman says the drivers cannot get the money because the company has gone into liquidation, making them unsecured creditors.

However, Fair Work Ombudsman Executive Director Michael Campbell has used the ruling to warn company directors they can be held accountable for the failures of their businesses to provide workers with their full entitlements.

“And we will not hesitate to pursue individual directors in cases where they are centrally involved in denying workers their entitlements,” he says.

The Ombudsman initially alleged 15 truck drivers were affected. It could not prosecute Corporate Consulting because the company is in liquidation.

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