A workplace relations firm has been fined $3 million over misleading Google ads. 

Workplace relations advisor Employsure Pty Ltd has been ordered to pay a penalty of $3 million for making false and misleading representations in its online ads that it was, or was affiliated with, a government agency.

In the 2021 financial year, Employsure had more than 23,500 clients. It has no affiliation with any government agency.

The ACCC instituted proceedings against Employsure in December 2018, alleging Employsure misled consumers that it was, or was affiliated with, a government agency, through its Google Ads published on Google search results pages.

Employsure’s ads appeared in Google search results between August 2016 and August 2018, when consumers searched for “fair work ombudsman”, “fair work commission” and other associated terms, and featured headlines including “Fair Work Ombudsman Help – Free 24/7 Employer Advice” and “Fair Work Commission Advice – Free Employer Advice”.

“We received more than 100 complaints about Employsure’s conduct. We were concerned that many small business operators were misled by Employsure’s ads into thinking they were getting help and advice from a government agency,” Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.

“We appealed the earlier $1 million penalty order because we believed the conduct, the company’s size and lengthy period during which they ran the misleading ads meant a higher penalty was warranted.

“We welcome this increased penalty, which we believe will help to deter similar breaches in the future. Penalties must be sufficiently high to deter others, so they cannot be seen as just an acceptable ‘cost of doing business’.

“This decision should serve as a reminder that it is a serious breach of trust to misrepresent a business as being part of the government, and that such breaches of the law will have serious consequences.”