Masterchef Judge George Calombaris Dumped From Tourism Campaign Over Payment Scandal

George Calombaris had a tough week last week after the Fair Work Commission fined him $200,000 for failing to pay current and former staff an incredible $7.8 million in wages and superannuation.

Well, he's just had another blow to his wallet after being dumped by Western Australian Tourism as a spokesperson.

The Masterchef Australia judge will be removed from all social media content previously uploaded by the body and all future posts will be avoided, according to news.com.au.

Apparently, the Create Your Own Gourmet Escape in WA was supposed to run until the end of September and Calombaris was the face of the campaign. There are alternatives that don't feature the celebrity chef.

WA Tourism Minister Paul Papalia said in a statement: "What George Calombaris has done is terrible.

"People should pay their employees what they're owed and what they deserve, and that's really disappointing."

There's no word on whether WA Tourism would try to recoup anything from Calombaris.

When the news broke last week, Calmobaris released a statement apologising for failing to pay more than 500 staff from his restaurants in Melbourne.

"We apologise to all our affected team members, past and present - as it is our people that make our restaurants great, and it is our priority to ensure all of our employees feel respected, rewarded and supported in their roles," he said in a statement.

"We are committed to acting as a force for change in the industry and leading by example when it comes to building and promoting supportive, healthy and compliant hospitality workplaces."

The MAdE Establishment group has now back paid all the staff who were missing payments from 2011 to 2017.

In addition to forking out nearly a quarter of a million bucks, Calombaris has been ordered to 'complete speaking arrangements to educate the restaurant industry on the importance of workplace compliance'.

It's hope this clause will send a message to other restaurateurs about the dangers they face when they don't pay their staff correctly.

Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said: "MAdE's massive back-payment bill should serve as a warning to all employers that if they don't get workplace compliance right from the beginning, they can spend years cleaning up the mess."

Featured Image Credit: Channel 10

Topics: Celebrity, News, Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie