A Gold Coast tour bus operator accused of trying to illegally strip away worker superannuation with a text message will face court over tens of thousands of dollars of alleged underpayments.
A driver for AVA Travel contacted the Fair Work Ombudsman with concerns after staff were allegedly told in September 2014 they would be engaged as independent contractors.
The FWO alleged this constituted sham contracting because the workers continued to perform the same work in the same way for the same pay, just without superannuation.
"The workers were still in an employer and employee relationship with AVA Travel and were not genuinely engaged as independent contractors," the organisation said, in a statement.
Following an investigation, the workplace ombudsman alleged two non-English-speaking drivers were underpaid a total of $43,477.
The company's operations manager Terry Huang, sole director Chin Kuen Yung and partner firm JTH Enterprises were also taken to court.
According to the FWO, the company acknowledged the underpayments and put a repayment plan in place.
The FWO alleged employees were paid a flat rate of $20.59, even on weekends, public holidays and overtime, a "significant" underpayment.
It said the operator would face the Federal Circuit Court in Brisbane.