Ballarat Trades Hall secretary Brett Edgington used parliamentary privilege to reel off the names of over a dozen businesses whose employees had made representations to the union and its Young Workers Legal Centre.

Mr Edgington said among the concerns raised by employees were underpayment, illegal cash-in-hand payments, bullying and harassment.

Mr Edgington identified The Golf House Hotel, The Boatshed Restaurant, the Bean and Barrow at Creswick and Ferguson Plarre Bakehouse.

Also named were: Red Peppa, the Lake View Hotel, Gloria Jeans Coffees, Capri Cafe at Bridge Mall, Racers Cafe and Bar, Royal Indians in Ballarat, Caltex and Liberty service stations, Dolls Cleaning Services and Don Chiccios Pizza and Pasta.

Several of these businesses have since come forward to deny the allegations.

Mr Edgington told the inquiry Ballarat also had a "significant issue" with Caltex and Liberty service stations.

Mr Edington said he had been contacted by witnesses who saw a Caltex worker breakdown after a fuel drive off because the stolen petrol would be deducted from his wages. 

"I received a really harrowing story about a young worker in a Caltex service station here in Ballarat where there was a number of customers in the store and a car drove off without paying for fuel.

"The worker became very distressed and actually burst into tears because he would have to pay for the drive off.

"I’ve been very careful with this list to make sure if that is there’s not significant evidence I won’t (put them on).”

Mr Edgington told the inquiry The Golf House Hotel and The Boatshed Restaurant, owned by Steve Bryant, was engaged in "systematic" exploitation of its workers.

​"I saw a young apprentice chef who was working cash-in-hand, she cut her hand, went to emergency, returned to work with a medical certificate and was sacked on the spot.

"We saw another worker who worked for just under 18 months, she'd been placed on a salary arrangement which under the award was clearly illegal ... it was calculated that this young girl was owed nearly $26,000 in unpaid wages.

"It took months and months and months for this young worker to progress through the Fair Work system .. in the end an offer was made well below the $26,000 this girl was owed and I know for a fact this business has been through this process a number of times."

Mr Edgington told the inquiry Rubicon Fish Shop paid its workers between $8 and $9 an hour.

"I’ve seen a significant number from Rubicon Fish Shop.

"I spoke to a young worker who started at $8...(the staff are) sacked at a whim.

"The really distressing story was that she knew what was happening to her was wrong and she said 'there’s a line of kids at the door who know what’s going on and they’ll take the job'."

Mr Bryant said he “emphatically” denied the “false and grossly incorrect” allegations heard at the inquiry, and said neither he nor his businesses had ever been found to be in breach of the Fair Work Act, or found to have breached their legal obligations.

Mr Bryant said his employees “would continue to be paid in accordance with all the legal obligations placed upon him as an employer”.

Lake View Hotel director Brett Quinlan said the naming of the business had “come as a huge shock”. 

Mr Quinlan said the hotel was a member Restaurant and Catering Association of Australia, paid staff in accordance with the Federal Award and engaged a human resources consulting firm, Employsure, to ensure compliance with the award.

“The Lake View is enormously proud of our team of 44 staff,” Mr Quinlan said.

“It’s disappointing to say the least that the veil of parliamentary privilege allows people to say pretty much whatever they like and not having any legal rights to hold these people accountable.”

Mr Edgington said the cleaning service held contracts with City of Ballarat and also cleaned some schools. 

"Dolls often hires cleaners that cleans multiple sites, what Dolls was doing to those cleaners and I assume still is is they would clock on and clock off (between sites).

"Under the cleaning award they’re to be paid 78 cents for travel in their own vehicle and the time between jobs is to be considered (and paid).

"On the face of it there’s award compliance but when you delve in some of these workers are getting virtually none of their entitlements."

Dolls Cleaning Services’ lawyer said their client denies all the union’s claims.

The majority of businesses who fail to comply with Fair Work would know they are “doing the wrong thing”, Commerce Ballarat chief executive Jodie Gillett said.

Commerce Ballarat made a representation to the Senate inquiry into evasion of the Fair Work Act on Tuesday.

However Ms Gillett said it could be difficult for small businesses to get accurate information about correct wages.

“I would suggest that the majority of businesses that are doing the wrong thing know they are going the wrong thing quite likely,” Ms Gillett said.

“There’ll be a lot of businesses who maybe make small errors of judgement through lack of information but businesses know they have to pay penalty rates, they know they can’t pay cash-in-hand so that’s never okay.”

Businesses named in Tuesday’s Senate inquiry into worker exploitation have said they were blindsided by union allegations of underpayment and bullying behaviour.

Trades Hall secretary Brett Edgington told the inquiry the names of over a dozen Ballarat businesses whose employees he said had made representations to the union or Young Workers Centre.

Mr Edgington also said he had been contacted by witnesses who had seen a Caltex employee breakdown after a fuel drive off because the money would be deducted from his pay.

Caltex Australia said on Wednesday the allegations would be investigated.

However other businesses said they were left angry and confused by their inclusion in what Mr Edgington told the inquiry was a carefully compiled list, informed by individual representations to Trades Hall over issues such as underpayment and withholding of entitlements.

Red Peppa owner Sheree Allan said she approached Trades Hall to clarify the nature of the complaint after being named in the inquiry, but was told only that it had been made 15 months ago. She said she was “blown away” by support from staff and customers since allegations were aired on Tuesday.

Liberty Oil Wendouree service station co-owner and manager Bangru Mutta said workers were paid award rates. 

Capri Cafe owner Michael Moussi said his staff were also paid award rates.

“I’ve got a big staff here, all my staff are happy. It’s all ex-staff who have problems with management when they leave and they make stories.”

The owner of one business alleged at the inquiry be underpaying workers conceded “a couple” of their workers had been paid cash-in-hand. 

Rubicon Fish Shop owner Yun Guo told The Courier she understood paying cash-in-hand was illegal and she would cease paying staff this way.

Don Chiccios Pizza and Pasta’s accountant Tony Webb said: “since they've been with our firm I can only say they've been compliant with all their obligations to their employees.”

A spokesperson for Gloria Jean’s Coffees said neither the two franchisees in Ballarat nor the company’s personal relations department had been contacted by Trades Hall about employee complaints, and both franchisees “denied any impropriety”. 

The Courier sought comment from every business named at the inquiry. Bean and Barrow, Racers Cafe and Bar, Royal Indians in Ballarat and Ferguson Plarre Bakehouse, all named by Mr Edgington at the inquiry, did not respond prior to publication. 

Owners of the Golf House Hotel, The Boatshed, Lake View Hotel and Dolls Cleaning Service have previously refuted the union’s claims.