Those investigations of potential underpayments owed to hospitality and restaurant employees have been conducted across the 70-plus venues operated by Merivale, according to the firm’s website.

“Adero has been instructed that employees of Merivale are entitled to a higher base rate of pay than they are currently receiving. Notwithstanding the operation of the Merivale Collective Agreement 2007, all potential class members are covered by the Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2010 or Restaurant Industry Award 2010, both of which set a higher base rate of pay than the Merivale agreement,” it wrote.

In light of the responses the firm said it has received thus far, a potential class action against the company – owned by Justin Hemmes – could be significant, she said.

“Adero has received a high level of interest from current and former employees of Merivale, and we anticipate that this will be a substantial claim,” she explained.

“Adero is investigating reports of systemic underpayments resulting from hours worked but not paid, particularly in respect of chefs engaged throughout Merivale’s many venues.”

In a statement, Merivale said it is “confident all staff have been paid in full and [that] we are compliant with all relevant legal standards and the applicable industrial instruments.

“Merivale was comprehensively audited by the independent regulator, the Fair Work Ombudsman, in 2018 as part of the Hospitality Compliance Campaign and on 13 July 2018 the Ombudsman determined that Merivale was in full compliance with all of its legal obligations. This demonstrates that any proposed action has no legal basis. Merivale also continually undertakes internal audits and is confident that there is no systemic underpayment,” the statement read.

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“In fact, the type of claim ventilated in media reports is not about systemic underpayments but rather is based on a creative, novel and strained interpretation of the industrial instrument, which is contrary to the Fair Work Ombudsman’s interpretation.”

In response to the prospect of a potential class action, Merivale said: “If the information is correct, and given the absence of any underpayment, the only winners out of any proposed class action, as always, will be lawyers and litigation funds.”

“A proposed class action is speculative and could involve current and former employees in a long, drawn-out and expensive legal action which could take years.”

It is important, the statement continued, to address any suggestion that Merivale’s ongoing business is in any way challenged by the move to the new relevant awards.

“As noted in our submission to Fair Work, it is correct that the transition to awards will require Merivale to undertake a review of the effect of the transition on its business. This review will focus on updating operational arrangements to reflect the new award conditions, by way of example, an assessment of shifts and rostering arrangements in certain venues at certain times/days of the week, how staff can move between venues within shifts and how we can accommodate many casual staff who have individual shift requests that the new award doesn’t contemplate or allow.”

Merivale added such in-venue administrative and operational reviews and “are not assessments as to the ongoing financial viability of any individual Merivale venue or the business as a whole”.

The company also sought to clarify that it is doing all it can “to adapt its business to the new award arrangements [that] are part and parcel of operating a successful business which employs circa 3,000 staff”.

In response to the assertion that no staff had been underpaid compared with award rates Ms Pledger said: “due diligence performed by Adero indicates Merivale [has] a practice of misclassifying employees to conceal underpayments, which are unlikely to be identified by the vulnerable workers effected.”