A Jamaica Blue franchise in South Australia is facing court after allegedly underpaying staff more than $50,000.

True Blue Pty Ltd and its director, Filomeno Rillotta, who is the manager and part-owner of the West Lakes Mall franchise, will face court following a prosecution launched by the Fair Work Ombudsman.

It is alleged that Rillotta was involved in underpaying 37 casual employees, including some under the age of 21, a total of $50,515 between December 2006 and October 2010.

The biggest alleged underpayment of an individual worker is $7,287, with Fair Work inspectors discovering the underpayments after employees made complaints.

Rillotta is also alleged to have breached workplace laws by failing to keep sufficiently detailed employment records and faces penalties of up to $6,600 per breach, while True Blue is said to have failed to comply with a Notice to Produce employment documents. It faces penalties of up to $33,000 per breach.