Teenagers let go from busy cafe after submitting Christmas availability

A busy cafe has come under fire from furious parents claiming their children have been unfairly let go.

Teenage staff at a popular cafe have been let go via text after handing in their festive season availability in what their parents believed was blatant unfair dismissal.

Furious mum, Hayley, said both her kids Oakley, 13, and Kealon, 15, were let go from their casual jobs at Surfing Lizard, in Coogee, Western Australia, in the lead-up to Christmas.

The younger teen was fired in a group WhatsApp discussion, viewed by news.com.au, in favour of his older brother after being told: “we can only retain one of you”.

In the group chat, with 17 members, they detailed how staff members who consistently worked the weekends would be favoured with shifts “as reliability is crucial to our operations”.

Surfing Lizard in Coogee has denied any wrongdoing. Picture: Google Maps

“Unfortunately, employing family members who frequently request the same Sundays off poses a scheduling challenge,” a cafe representative said, before apologising for “any inconvenience”.

The cafe has denied any wrongdoing.

The employer said they were “very sorry” to Oakley for letting him go, adding: “Once you’ve grown a bit more and gained some maturity, we would be happy to welcome you back to the team in the future”.

Oakley messaged to ask about shifts.

And was sacked in a group discussion.

A few weeks later, Kealon messaged the group to say he was available both Christmas Eve and Boxing Day, and a cafe representative responded saying: “you won’t qualify for any double-pay shifts if you’re unable to work Christmas Day or New Years Day”.

Under Fair Work’s National Employment Standards, casual employees – including under the hospitality award – have an entitlement to penalty rates for public holidays, with no exclusions.

Kealon was later sent a private message informing him that he too was being let go.

He was told it was “due to recent business downturn”, however his mum claimed the cafe had been advertising it was hiring staff to help over the festive period.

She told news.com.au that both sons’ self esteem had been negatively affected.

“My children enjoyed going to work and were completely committed to their roles, so you can understand how devastated they were when they lost their jobs just before Christmas,” Hayley said.

“They were provided with excuses and it has truly affected their confidence and belief in themselves. They are now worried and concerned about future employment because they have lost trust and feel anxious about the prospect of this happening to them again.”

She was furious about the situation and argued there should be “consequences”.

Surfing Lizard has denied any wrongdoing and did not respond to news.com.au’s specific questions regarding Oakley and Kealon.

Instead, it shared a post to Facebook stating: “claims being circulated are not only misleading but entirely false”.

Kealon’s mum said the business has been hiring new staff.

“When we create rosters and allocate shifts, our priority naturally goes to team members who demonstrate reliability and consistency. It’s important to remember that when people share their stories, they often present only one side. What’s missing is the other side – the full context of why decisions are made.”

The businesses seemed to indicate it was sheer coincidence that staff were fired after making their festive period availability known.

“The decision to let someone go is never about their inability to work a specific day – it’s about their overall performance and availability not aligning with the needs of our business.”

On Facebook, other parents claimed their children experienced problems while employed with Surfing Lizard, including one who said a teen’s hours were reduced after turning 18 and their rate increased.

More than 100 people contributed to the discussion, with dozens making negative claims against the business and others encouraging those affected to complain to Fair Work.

Originally published as Teenagers let go from busy cafe after submitting Christmas availability