The Fair Work Ombudsman has commenced legal action against the operators of an inner Sydney café.
In court is More Than Skin Pty Ltd, which operated The Noshery café in Glebe as well as the company’s co-directors Lupo Stojcevski and Lila Stojcevski.
The regulator conducted an investigation into the company after receiving a request from assistance from three workers who were employed at the café for various periods between September and December, 2020.
The inspector issued three Compliance Notices to the company between March and May 2021, after forming the belief that the three employees had not been paid their minimum casual wage entitlements, and casual penalty entitlements for weekends and public holiday work.
The company faces a penalty of up to $33,300 per Compliance Notice breach while its two directors face penalties of up to $6,660 each per Compliance Notice breach.
In addition the company and Lila Stojcevski face further potential penalties of up to $66,000 and $13,320 respectively for allegedly failing to provide pay slips.
It is also believed that Lupo Stojcevski was involved in breaching one of the Compliance Notices, while Lila Stojcevski was involved in breaching two Compliance Notices and the failure to provide pay slips.
The Fair Work Ombudsman believes that the company, without reasonable excuse, failed to comply with any of the Compliance Notices, which required it to calculate and back-pay the workers’ outstanding entitlements and failed to provide payslips to two of the workers.
The Ombudsman is seeking a court order for the company to carry out the actions required by the Compliance Notices, including calculating and rectifying any underpayments in full, plus superannuation and interest.
A directions hearing is listed in Sydney on 15 June 2022.
Image credit: Eat Liven Love
