When a company goes into liquidation, unpaid workers often end up at the back of a long queue. But the people who ran that company don’t simply walk away. A Sydney labour hire director has just learned that the hard way.

The penalty

On 13 October 2026 the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) announced it had secured an $8,415 penalty in the Federal Circuit and Family Court against Simon Jabbour, sole director of NLHR Management Pty Ltd.

NLHR Management supplied workers to two restaurant-and-shisha-lounge outlets trading as Nara Lounge, at Hurstville in southern Sydney and Pendle Hill in western Sydney. Mr Jabbour admitted he was involved in the company’s failure to comply with a Compliance Notice.

How it started

Fair Work Inspectors visited the Hurstville outlet during a proactive auditing campaign, and an investigation followed. In December 2024 an inspector issued NLHR Management a Compliance Notice after forming a belief that workers at both outlets had been underpaid between 2022 and 2024.

The alleged underpayments under the Restaurant Industry Award 2020 and the National Employment Standards covered:

• minimum wage rates for ordinary hours
• weekend and public holiday penalty rates
• annual leave entitlements

The affected workers included several visa holders and young workers.

The money that’s still missing

Complying with the notice required NLHR Management to pay workers a total of $127,467, with individual amounts ranging from $60 to more than $10,400.

That money largely hasn’t been paid. $125,241, plus superannuation, remains outstanding for 53 workers. NLHR Management has since gone into liquidation and both Nara Lounge outlets have closed, which the FWO says has restricted its ability to recover back-pay.

(Note: when the FWO launched the case in May 2026, it described 69 affected workers and a higher figure. The numbers above are those reported at the penalty stage.)

Why the court penalised him

Judge Sheila Kaur-Bains noted that Mr Jabbour remains a director of 10 other companies whose businesses may employ staff in the future. That made specific deterrence important: the penalty was designed to discourage him, and other employers, from repeating the conduct.

The maximum penalty for an individual’s involvement in failing to comply with a Compliance Notice was $19,800.

The regulator’s message

Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said directors involved in ignoring a Compliance Notice should expect court penalties, and the FWO will keep taking legal action when notices aren’t followed. She again flagged fast food, restaurants and cafés, and the protection of migrant workers, as enforcement priorities.

What employers and directors should take from this

Directors are personally liable. Under the Fair Work Act’s accessorial liability provisions, anyone “involved in” a contravention can be penalised. Liquidating the company doesn’t end that exposure.

Compliance Notices aren’t optional. A notice gives a business a defined path to fix an underpayment without going to court. Ignoring it adds a fresh contravention on top of the original problem.

Labour hire doesn’t shift the risk away. NL HR Management was the employer of the workers it supplied. Labour hire providers carry full award obligations — and businesses using labour hire should check their providers pay correctly.

The court looks forward, not just back. A director’s other companies and future employing activity can push a penalty higher.

The uncomfortable truth for workers

The penalty is a win for accountability, but it isn’t back-pay. Fifty-three workers are still owed more than $125,000. Liquidation can leave employees relying on the liquidator or, in some cases, the Fair Entitlements Guarantee scheme, which covers certain unpaid entitlements when an employer is liquidated or bankrupt but has limits on what it covers.

If you think you’ve been underpaid, contact the Fair Work Ombudsman for free help at fairwork.gov.au or on 13 13 94. Union members can also contact their union.

Source: Fair Work Ombudsman media releases, 4 May and 13 October 2026, with reporting from OnNotice. This post is general information, not legal advice.