Melbourne boss slaps tied-up apprentice at Christmas party

A Melbourne boss is facing an $80,000 fine after he slapped an apprentice while he was strung upside down at a work Christmas party.

A Melbourne boss has pleaded guilty to operating an unsafe workplace after he was filmed slapping his tied-up apprentice at a work Christmas party.

Steven Yousif was filmed repeatedly hitting apprentice Ilyas Elkharraz while he was suspended upside down from a crane at window manufacturing business, Melbourne Glass Solutions, in December 2020.

Mr Elkharraz, who was 23 at the time, said he felt “degraded, humiliated and embarrassed” by the incident that was filmed by his colleagues.

“I felt like a piece of meat about to get cut,” he previously told A Current Affair.

Mr Yousif was filmed hitting the then-23-year-old. Picture: A Current Affair

Mr Elkharraz was hung upside down from a crane. Picture: A Current Affair

Mr Elkharraz, who moved to Australia from Morocco, quit his job after the abuse and launched a case with Victoria’s WorkCover.

Another apprentice carpenter also claimed Mr Yousif threatened to terminate his employment and stopped him from attending TAFE classes.

On Monday, 27-year-old Mr Yousif pleaded guilty in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court to failing to provide and maintain a working environment that was safe and without risk to health.

Mr Yousif faces a maximum fine of $80,595.

His lawyer Joseph D’Abaco urged the magistrate to hand down a sentence without a conviction.

“He now realises his conduct was wrong and has no place in the modern workplace,” he told the court.

Ilyas Elkharraz claimed to have been “degraded, humiliated and embarrassed” by the incident. Picture: A Current Affair

The lawyer said Mr Yousif’s second business, JADEN Commercial Windows, would suffer if the court entered a conviction, saying it would impact Mr Yousif’s “ability to successfully tender for certain projects”.

“It would clearly impose a serious financial impost upon JADEN … but it would also affect the employees of JADEN … who could potentially be collateral damage here for no fault of their own,” he said.

Melbourne Glass Solutions is no longer operating as a company.

Mr Yousif’s sentence was adjourned to December to allow the magistrate to consider the penalty and possible conviction.