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Victorian store in court after Wage Inspectorate raids scores of businesses during the school holidays.
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TK Maxx faces 33 charges over child labour laws
23 October 2023
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Clothing retailer TK Maxx faces criminal charges over alleged breaches of child employment laws at its Werribee store in Victoria.
Wage Inspectorate Victoria, the state’s child employment regulator, has filed 33 charges against TJX Australia Pty Limited, trading as TK Maxx, alleging its Werribee store contravened the Child Employment Act 2003 by:
- Employing two children under 15 without a permit on 12 occasions.
- Failing to ensure children were supervised by someone with a Working with Children Clearance.
- Employing a child for more hours than they are permitted to work
- Employing a child later than 9pm.
- Failing to provide children with a 30-minute rest break for every 3 hours worked.
The maximum penalty for each offence is $18,429 and the matter has been listed for mention in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 8 November.
The Wage Inspectorate said it began investigating TK Maxx following a child employment compliance blitz over the summer school holidays, which focused on retail businesses in shopping centres across Melbourne.
Wage Inspectorate officers inspected 169 businesses across eight shopping centres, including Chadstone, Southland, Eastland and Highpoint.
It required 69 retail businesses to produce information about any workers under 15.
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The compliance blitz led to four investigations and identified 29 suspected offences. In addition to charges served to TK Maxx, three other businesses received official warnings.
Wage Inspectorate said the blitz served as a valuable educational opportunity with many employers in the dark about child work laws. Some believed that a child could work at the age of 14 years and 9 months and that no specific laws applied once they reached that age.
However, Victoria’s child employment laws required employers of anyone under 15 to have a child employment permit or licence before any work took place. Workers under 15 had to be supervised by someone who held a valid Victorian Working with Children Clearance (unless exempt).
Child employment laws also restrict when businesses can employ children and how long they can work:
- During a school term, children can be employed for a maximum of three hours a day and 12 hours per week.
- During school holidays, children can be employed up to six hours a day and 30 hours a week.
- Children can only work between 6am and 9pm, and must get a 30-minute rest break after every three hours’ work.
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