22 May 2019
Mitte Café in Fitzroy North registered as Super Max Coffee Pty Ltd was found to have underpaid 32 workers a total of $37,520.
The café failed to pay its casual workers their casual loading, overtime rates, and penalty rates for weekends and public holidays. The employees served customers and worked as cooks, kitchen attendants between July 2017 and June 2018. The workers should have been paid based on Restaurant Industry Award.
The Fair Work Ombudsman found that a 21-year-old worker was paid $23 on weekends instead of $28.22 and $31.50 on public holidays when entitled to $47.03. Twelve workers were under the age of 26.
The café and the operator George Younan has entered into Court-Enforceable Undertaking (EU), under which the café has to rectify the underpayment and make donation of $2000 to Commonwealth Government’s Consolidated Revenue Fund. The company must also provide an apology letter to all underpaid staffs, display a workplace notice outlining the breaches and publish the notice on its Facebook page. Along with that, the company is required to engage external professional for the audits of pay and condition between 2019 and 2020.
Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said, “The Fair Work inspectors will continue to conduct targeted audits of businesses in the fast food, restaurant and café sector to improve compliance. We encourage any workers with concerns about their pay to contact the Fair Work Ombudsman.”
Employers and employees can visit www.fairwork.gov.au or call the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 for free advice and assistance about their rights and obligations in the workplace.
