A popular swim school caught ripping off 1300 mostly teenage instructors a total of $1.4 million has agreed to be supervised by the wage regulator for the next two years.

Paul Sadler Swimland, a franchise network of 12 swimming schools in Victoria that hosts more than 30,000 swimming lesson a week, has signed an enforceable undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman after admitting to the underpayments.

Julia , Janelle , Shane and Kirsten some of the staff at Paul Sadler Swimland Essendon who banded together after discovering they have been ripped off by the company. Credit:Jason South

The franchiser has also admitted that it was an accessory to the contraventions of wage laws even though it was not the direct employer of staff.

In December 2016, Fairfax Media revealed that over a thousand teenage and young adult employees had been underpaid after because the company did not increase their wages as their age went up. Other staff were not properly graded to reflect their experience as per the award.