Former café operators penalised for breaching pay slip laws

The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia has imposed a total penalty of $61,796 on the former operators of a Melbourne café and restaurant, following deliberate breaches of employment laws.

P49 Collingwood Pty Ltd, which ran the now-closed "Project 49" café in Collingwood, was handed a penalty of $55,003 for failing to comply with pay slip requirements and a Compliance Notice. The company's sole director, Rocco Esposito, was also fined $6,793 for his role in the contraventions.

The penalties stem from the company's failure to calculate and back-pay entitlements owed to a worker who was employed at the café between February 2021 and August 2022, according to the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO).

While the company made some back payments after the FWO took legal action, the worker's entitlements were not paid until 15 months after they were due. The court also ordered P49 Collingwood to calculate and pay any outstanding superannuation entitlements.

Judge John O'Sullivan, who oversaw the case, found that the breaches were deliberate and underscored the need for penalties to deter future non-compliance.

"It is necessary and appropriate to impose a penalty that signals non-compliance with statutory notices will not be tolerated," O'Sullivan said. "The efficacy of these notices could be undermined if recipients think that a failure to comply has no meaningful consequences."

Adhering to Compliance Notices

The FWO's investigation began after receiving a request for assistance from the affected worker, who had been employed full-time by P49 Collingwood to perform barista, managerial, and supervisory duties.

According to the FWO, the worker had not been paid for the final two weeks of employment and had not received her accrued annual leave entitlements when her employment ended.

A Fair Work Inspector issued a Compliance Notice in November 2022, after determining that the worker was owed wages and annual leave under the Restaurant Industry Award 2020 and the Fair Work Act's National Employment Standards.

Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth stressed the importance of adhering to Compliance Notices, stating that employers who ignore such notices risk substantial penalties.

"When Compliance Notices are not followed, we will continue to take legal action to protect employees," Booth said in a statement. "Employers who fail to act on these notices risk substantial penalties, as the company and director in this case have found out."