perhaps business isnt for everyone?

[davidc4430]

Melbourne cafe owner threatens to sue staff, who claimed they were underpaid, for 'harassment'

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-26/melbourne-cafe-owner-warns-staff-who-claimed-underpaymen/96999...

you run a business employing staff and you rely on 'google' to figure out pay rates?

you also ask staff to sign documents without checking if they are legal first?

you tell staff if they complain you will sue them?

i think business is not for you.

[springyzone]

Running a business is certainly not for those owners.

They didn't even bother to do a spell check on their 'document' for employees to sign.

They can't get anything right.

As for penalty rates being traded for lunch & coffee. I am not sure exactly what the penalty rates are but a few years back when I was talking to my brother, he said he liked to do the Sunday shift at his work place (which was greyhound racing, not a cafe) because he was paid double time. I think some other weekend shifts were paid time and a half.

I would imagine if you were working for 8 hours, that penalty rate payment could amount to a lot more than lunch & a coffee. Which of course is exactly why the owner wanted to go with it.

I think with small businesses, there are a lot of instances of employers making up their own rules because they are in the position of power. My daughter once worked for a dentist. A workmate who was away sick came in that day fresh from the doctor's, she had been given a medical certificate for 3 days as she was in pain- could not stand or walk without pain.

The dentist tore up her certificate, wrote her a prescrition for pain and told her she could not leave. He demanded she stay in the back room and do paperwork. her boyfriend collected her that night (she could not drive) and told the dentist she would not be back.

It's just a pity she resigned and didn't take it further.

[davidc4430]

maybe its time every employee when getting a job should recieve an official govt booklet covering everything they are legally entitled to.

this booklet would have a section the employer would fill out covering the new employees 'work schedule' and 'pay rates'

a contract if you will.

both parties sign it after its read and understood.

both parties recieve a copy.

i'm sure an document like that would be pretty easy to introduce.

[lyndal1838]

David, what you are proposing already exists.

Employees work under an Award applicable to their industry.  These Awards are freely available on line for anyone who wants to look at them.  They set out the minimum terms of employent and wages that should be available to employees.

To be honest, neither the cafe owners nor the employees acted appropriately in this case.

The bosses are sorely in need of advice from accountants for a start....and they should have had some sort of training in actually running a business.

Once the staff was aware of the underpayments they should have spoken to the bosses.  If they were not happy with the response they should have gone directly to the Union and let them handle it.  Picketting the cafe was so wrong on so many levels.....scaring the customers is just wrong and actually did nothing to garner sympathy.

[imastawka]

Lyndal, according to that link, it was the Union that picketed with the workers.

The staff appointed a spokesperson, and the bosses wouldn't talk to her.

It seems to me that every cafe in Melbourne googles the casual wage.   My grandies

have worked in a lot of cafes and still do, and they only get paid $16 hour.

What are they gunna do?   It's what the owners rely on......the workers wanting to work.

What's wrong with the appropriate authority doing a blanket check on the wages of these cafe workers?

Original news report -

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-23/barry-cafe-in-northcote-accused-of-underpaying-casual-staff/96...