Marketing company slammed by judge for ‘taking advantage’ of interns with low pay
A marketing company which tried to save money by under-paying interns has been slammed by a Federal Court judge for undertaking what could be described as a “calculated and carefully executed fraud”.
Orders were made against Naomi-Jayne Aldred, the operator of Melbourne-based marketing company, Nexus Coaching Group Pty Ltd, which went into liquidation in 2013, ordering her to pay $17,000 for under-paying three interns that worked for the business.
The action was launched on behalf of the women by the Fair Work Ombudsman, Natalie James.
The Ombudsman claimed the three women had worked for the company for free for three months after being recruited by the Nexus CG in 2012.
The company described itself as a “a sales and marketing agency that works with small to medium businesses in Melbourne and Australia with sales training, business owner development and marketing strategies. We also have a design team to aid in graphic design and website design.”
Naomi-Jayne Aldred, who owned the business at that time, was described by judge Grant Riethmuller as having taken advantage of the three young graduates who were seeking work in an industry notoriously difficult to break into.
The three women were offered letters of employment claiming to be in-line with national employment standards, a statement the judge said was ‘brazen’ as the claims were completely false.
“The effect of these letters, at best, was misleading and deceptive if one accepts that the respondent was unaware that she was breaching the laws, if not completely reckless, and at worse formed part of a calculated and carefully executed fraud upon these three young women,” the judge ruled.
He noted that such arrangements undermined the integrity of labour standards and even created barriers to entry to employment.
Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James said the ruling should be a warning to companies hoping to use interns as a source of free labour.
“The Fair Work Ombudsman is committed to protecting vulnerable young workers as they enter the workforce and will take action in cases of serious non-compliance,” said James.
Simon Canning
As someone who graduated from university last year I (along with several others that I know) slaved away our internship with no pay and practically ran a small business, they should be lucky that they even got paid.
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Um – there are a significant number of very large agencies quivering right now. Has happened for years and the precedent could be huge to the industry.
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Intern exploitation is rife. How satisfying it is to finally see the Fair Work Ombudsman ping these slavers.
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Having only got a box of chocolates for over 3 months of hard work, where I was running campaigns and landing story coverage that the Account Manager couldn’t even do, I would have to say PR agencies are the worst. In particular a large one that starts with the letter [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]
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Advertising eats its young, thank god for regulators with teeth.
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‘They should be lucky they even got paid’ – no they shouldn’t. They should fight for what is right and fair. Anyone who has slaved away at an unpaid internship or been employed below minimum wage in a graduate role should continue to fight for fairer conditions (regardless of how hard it is to break into the industry). Accepting what is common course only perpetuates the situation.
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