Prahran, Richmond cafes going to court for underpaying staff
Underpayment of staff has been in the news of late, especially in the service industry. Now two popular cafes in Prahran and Richmond have been accused of underpaying staff and face their day in court.
Inner East
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Two cafes in Prahran and Richmond have been accused of underpaying their staff by the Fair Work Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman started legal action in the Federal Circuit Court against two businesses, Goldream Pty Ltd and Plushbear Pty Ltd, who respectively operate Tall Timber in Prahran and Friends of Mine in Richmond for failing to comply with a compliance notice.
Barry Gold is the director for both businesses.
The cafes employed student visa holders and employees on working holiday visas.
Fair Work inspectors uncovered the alleged underpayments during audits in 2018, consequently issuing a compliance notice to correctly calculate and back-pay the underpayments.
After an investigation, an inspector believed that between December 2017 and June 2018, casual employees received a flat pay for all hours worked, including weekends and public holidays.
Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said compliance notices were an important tool to recover unpaid wages for workers.
“The Fair Work Ombudsman is cracking down on alleged underpayments in the fast food, restaurant and cafe sector, particularly involving migrant workers,” she said.
The regulator is seeking penalties of up to $31,500 for each business, with Mr Gold also facing a maximum penalty of $6300 in both proceedings.
This is on top of wanting a court order requiring the businesses to rectify the underpayments in full, plus superannuation and interest.
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The matter will first go before court on April 16.
The fast food, restaurant and cafe sector has accounted for more disputes than any other industry during the last six years. It made up 56 per cent of the FWO’s new litigations last financial year.