The penalties were imposed by the Federal Circuit Court after the Fair Work Ombudsman took legal action to stand up for the rights of Humit Vijan,an Indian man aged in his 20s.
Mr Vijan was employed as a delivery driver between November 1,2015,and May 31,2016,and underpaid $6248.41 during this time.
Mr Zhao treated Mr Vijan as an independent contractor and paid him an hourly rate of no more than $16,but the Fair Work Ombudsman argued the driver should be defined as Mr Zhao's employee because he did not have his own delivery business and he was under a high level of supervision and control.
If he had been rightfully paid as an employee,Mr Vijan was entitled to at least $20.36 for ordinary hours and up to $40.72 for overtime and public holidays under the Pizza Hut enterprise agreement.
The Fair Work Ombudsman said Mr Vijan was also underpaid on a per-delivery entitlement,superannuation and a uniform allowance.
Judge Michael Jarrett said Mr Vijan was a low-skilled visa worker,having completed no more than a secondary education,who had recently arrived in Australia and was looking for work to financially support himself and his wife in her studies.
“He[Mr Vijan] was the sole breadwinner for he and his wife,and was responsible for their daily living expenses,rent,groceries and his wife’s tuition fees,” Judge Jarrett said.