Ripped-off workers were repaid $40 million last year, while bosses were fined $4.4 million - Fair Work Ombudsman annual report

Ripped off workers have been compensated more than $40 million in stolen or lost wages recovered by the Fair Work Ombudsman over the past year.

In the agency's annual report released today, Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker revealed a "significant increase" in action on wages stolen from 18,000 employees.

The highest recovery in the workplace regulator's history comes after the resolution of 29,000 workplace disputes, 17.8 million visits to the Fair Work Ombudsman website and 380,000 calls from employees questioning irregularities in their pay and conditions.

Ombudsman Sandra Parker said more than half of the litigation filed involved businesses in the fast food, restaurants and cafe sector which secured more than $1.6 million in penalties against employers.

"We urge employers to actively check they are paying their staff correctly and access our free resources for help. We will take enforcement action against employers who break the law," Ms Parker said.

"We will continue our important work educating employers and employees, targeting high-risk industries, protecting vulnerable workers and improving compliance across Australian workplaces in the year ahead."

Ms Parker's warning comes after high profile restaurateurs were investigated by Fair Work officers with celebrity chef George Calombaris forced to repay $8 million in wages to hundreds of current and past employees.

The annual report says the changing workplace environment "increases the opportunity for unscrupulous employers to evade detection, particularly where vulnerable workers are employed."

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation is also being investigated for the alleged underpayment of 2500 flat rate casuals over six years.

The ABC's annual report for 2018-19 has put aside $22,9m for the potential "estimated historical salary and wages and superannuation entitlements owed to certain casual employees".

A Fair Work spokesman says the investigation into the allegations is continuing.

Source: ABC 2018-19 annual report

The annual report says courts imposed penalties of $4.4 million as a result of FWO litigation, including $383,616 against the operators of three Tokyo Sushi outlinets in regional New South Wales where vulnerable employees were underpaid more than $70,000.

The Fair Work Ombudsman regulates 13 million workers and over two million businesses using an "intelligence-led and risk-based approach" in covering key sectors of the economy.

A key success cited in the annual report was the "Harvest Trail Inquiry" which recovered more than a million dollars in unpaid wages for 2,500 agricultural workers.

The report says Fair Work inspectors will continue to focus on businesses with high staff turnover, franchises and businesse that use temporary visa holders.