George Calombaris; Tyra & Naomi

‘MasterChef’ judge George Calombaris faces legal action for underpaying staff $7.8 m

HE IS BEST KNOWN AS ONE OF THE longstanding judges on popular cooking show MasterChef, but George Calombaris is also an ambitious restaurateur. However, the celebrity chef has come under fire after it was revealed he was fined $200,000 for underpaying staff in his restaurants across Melbourne – allegedly owing his workers a sum of nearly $8 million.

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) reportedly spent four years investigating Calombaris’ group of companies, Made Establishment, which includes Hellenic Republic and Gazi restaurants. The investigation revealed the companies failed to pay staff minimum wage and overtime, and Made confirmed it would be taking measures to undo the damage “after self-reporting incorrect payments of staff”.

“The incorrect payments were identified by Made during a review in early 2017, following a change in ownership and management,” a statement by Made Establishment said. “After an investigation, the FWO confirmed Made’s finding that employees had been incorrectly classified and underpaid due to incorrect processes and failures within its payroll and human resources functions.”

In addition to back-paying 515 current and former staff for their work between 2011 and 2017, Calombaris and Made Establishment have agreed for their restaurants to be audited over the next three years and will be required to implement new payroll and compliance protocols. Nine Jimmy Grants employees have also received back pay.

Appearing on Network Ten’s The Project on July 18, former Hellenic Republic employee Orlaith Belfrage claimed she is still owed $2000 in back payments. “I worked at Hellenic Republic Brunswick for two years and was misclassified as a casual and not paid my overtime as a full-time worker,” she said. “For my overtime, it was just explained that that is just how it is and I can suck it up and work the job or leave.” When asked whether she believed the celebrity chef should be bumped from Network Ten’s MasterChef, Belfrage said, “Absolutely.” However, a spokeswoman said in a statement: “George has the support of Network Ten.”

Following the scandal, it was revealed that Calombaris would be dropped from WA Tourism’s newest campaign. WA Tourism Minister Paul Papalia said, “What George Calombaris has done is terrible.” •

It’s not the first time Calombaris has had a run-in with the law – he appeared in court on Sep. 8, 2017, after being charged with an assault at an A-League grand final.

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Calombaris (left)with his fellow MasterChef judges, Matt Preston (middle) and Gary Mehigan.