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Selected cases

Federal Court of Australia · [2026] FCA 176

Ioakimidis v Lygon Court Travel

A Federal Court Fair Work penalty case about a travel agency franchisee, missing payslips, employee records and annual leave loading.

Federal Court of Australia27 Feb 2026

Plain-English explainers, not legal advice. Check the linked official source before you rely on a specific section, and get advice for your situation.

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Quick read

  • Payslips and employee records are basic compliance, not back-office extras.
  • A Federal Court Fair Work penalty case about a travel agency franchisee, missing payslips, employee records and annual leave loading.

Use this to check

  • Employers must keep required employee records and provide compliant payslips.
  • Annual leave loading can still matter when employment ends.
  • Admissions, apology and corrective action may be relevant, but penalties can still be imposed.

Decision snapshot

  1. 1

    What happened

    • Lisa Ioakimidis brought Fair Work claims against Lygon Court Travel Pty Ltd trading as Helloworld Lower Templestowe, and against two directors and managers.
    • The business was a Helloworld franchisee travel agency.
    • The first respondent admitted contraventions including failure to pay annual leave loading on accrued but untaken annual leave when employment ended, failure to make and keep required employee records between June 2014 and August 2019, and failure to provide payslips during employment.
    • The admissions were made after the matter had been set down for trial.
  2. 2

    What the court had to decide

    • The Court considered admitted contraventions of ss 45, 535 and 536 of the Fair Work Act, including failure to pay annual leave loading, failure to keep employee records and failure to provide payslips, and the appropriate declarations and pecuniary penalties.
  3. 3

    What the court decided

    • The Federal Court made declarations for the admitted Fair Work contraventions and imposed penalties totalling $55,000 against Lygon Court Travel Pty Ltd: $15,000 for the annual leave loading contravention, $20,000 for the recordkeeping contravention and $20,000 for the payslip contravention.
    • The penalties were ordered to be paid to the employee within 28 days, and the proceeding against the second and third respondents was dismissed by consent.

Practical impact

Practical read

  • Payslips and employee records are basic compliance, not back-office extras.
  • A small franchise business can face penalties years later if it cannot show leave, pay and recordkeeping compliance.

Useful next steps

  • Employers must keep required employee records and provide compliant payslips.
  • Annual leave loading can still matter when employment ends.
  • Admissions, apology and corrective action may be relevant, but penalties can still be imposed.
  • Franchisees remain responsible for their own employment compliance systems.
  • Issue payslips that comply with Fair Work requirements every pay cycle.

Practical read

This is a small-business employment compliance case with very familiar facts: a franchisee employer, a long employment relationship, missing payslips, inadequate records and a termination payment issue. None of those items is exotic. That is why the case is useful.

The employer admitted the contraventions. The real fight was penalty. The Court imposed penalties totalling $55,000, including penalties for annual leave loading, recordkeeping and payslip failures.

For small businesses, this is a reminder that payroll evidence matters for years. If the business cannot produce records and payslips, it loses control of the story. Franchise branding does not remove the employer's obligations, and directors or managers involved in day-to-day employment decisions should assume payroll compliance is part of management, not a purely clerical task.

Checks to run

Key points

  • Issue payslips that comply with Fair Work requirements every pay cycle.
  • Keep leave, classification, hours, pay and termination records in a recoverable system.
  • Check annual leave loading and unused leave calculations before final pay is made.
  • Audit payroll records before a dispute reaches litigation.
  • Train franchise managers on employment obligations that sit with the local employer.

Key takeaways

  • Employers must keep required employee records and provide compliant payslips.
  • Annual leave loading can still matter when employment ends.
  • Admissions, apology and corrective action may be relevant, but penalties can still be imposed.
  • Franchisees remain responsible for their own employment compliance systems.

Related topics

Employment & WorkplaceFranchising & Regulated Industries

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