The Fair Work Ombudsman has voiced concerns about "significant non-compliance" with wage laws by Top End restaurants, cafes and takeaway businesses, with close to $400,000 recovered in a recent crackdown.
More than 30 businesses audited in 48 surprise inspections were found to be not paying penalty rates, casual loadings, overtime and excessive unpaid trials – with 479 local workers underpaid.
One business was forced to backpay almost $100,000 to 15 of its casual and part-time workers.
Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker would not name any of the offending outlets but said all were on notice of potential court action for future breaches.
"Everyone who's made a genuine mistake, as long as they fix it and pay back what they owe, I think the community would say, 'fair enough'," she said.
"I think if it's a systemic issue — if clearly the business knew that what they were doing is wrong and didn't care, if they were even directing some of their managers to not pay people properly, which we see quite often — that's a different issue."
The auditors targeted businesses considered "at-risk" of breaching workplace laws, including those employing visa holders, any which had been the subject of anonymous tip-offs and businesses that had a history of non-compliance.
Ms Parker said her office had "intelligence" indicating "significant non-compliance in food precincts" across the country and in the Top End.
"Darwin is a problem," she said.
"We have allegations, for example, of underpayments of businesses paying flat hourly rates of paying cash, unpaid hours of work, excessive unpaid trials and other things.
"Our job is to not only educate employers and workers about this, but it is also to enforce the law."
Compliance and infringement notices were issued to the businesses found in breach of the law, with three businesses still under investigation.
Union repeats call to criminalise wage theft
United Workers Union NT branch secretary Erina Early said stronger action was required against employers found in repeated breach of the law.
"Sometimes it is a genuine mistake. But our real issue is there's really no punitive measure to stop this practice of wage theft," she said.
"If the Fair Work Ombudsman or union takes it to the court, they get a bit of a slap on the wrist.
"This is why the unions are pushing for wage theft to be part of the criminal code in all the states and territories and at the federal level, because it sends a clear message to employers that wage theft is a criminal offence."
Victoria and Queensland are currently the only states where wage theft is a criminal offence.
