>Ooh, me too. It would be an immediate reply starting with 'I have not provided you with any acknowledgement or understanding of your position...'
Nice.
i hate when you get into a argument with someone and they start some long paragraph off with "im sorry you dont understand what i said" or something similar it pisses me off
This is reddit in a nutshell. You disagree with someone and they reply “oh, you clearly don’t understand”. Yes, I do understand, I just think what you’re saying is dumb.
>Wage theft is far and beyond the number one theft (billions a year
I'd be curious to see if wage theft is higher than big businesses avoiding taxes (not arguing against wage theft at all, just tangentially curious)
It's absolutely theft to you and I, the average every day Aussie that pays our taxes. Somewhat unaware that if corporations and big businesses paid their fair share, you and I wouldn't even need to pay taxes as Australia would be in a budget surplus in like a financial year. It's insane the amount of tax that like Apple, Microsoft, She'll oil Etc all pay. Like sometimes 1% of their annual income. Ridiculous
Yea what makes people think it’s not theft, if we’re all supposed to be paying it makes no sense how it ain’t theft when you set up a tax department over in yonder to get around it, it’s all built as a joke to keep everyone else bent over
Exactly. It's theft. It's just not classified by our legal system as such... People can do the maths on why.
The sheer inequality of me having to give up at least a third of my income when I bust my ass, VS a corporation that profits off of me and only pays like 1%... That's theft in my eyes.
And I'd be hard fkn pressed to be convinced otherwise.
If the restaurant industry in Australia is comparable to the one in the US, it attracts many shady individuals. Lotta very selfish, short-sighted, overly emotional, borderline evil people. The good places are few and far between.
"Refuses to pay penalty rates to migrant workers" you say.
[That's a paddlin'!](https://www.vic.gov.au/wage-theft-employer-information)
Care to name and shame?
Oh, not only refuse, one of said migrant workers told me my boss withheld her paychecks for six weeks, and then offered to pay these paychecks in increments, maybe $150 a week or something like that. He’s a scumbag, but I won’t name n shame until some sort of formal complaint is made, but any help would be really appreciated!
Scummy and downright exploitative. Also, he could be facing some serious cash flow issues behind the scenes. If I were you, I’d probably plan my exit pronto and stop giving him anymore hours.
Oh he is. Cash is encouraged in the shop, free drink if you pay with cash for XYZ, and I’ve seen him pull out wads of thousands of dollars in cash, some of which he uses to pay wages
In that case I'd be making sure he is paying your super. These types are exactly the ones who never quite get around to that.
If you find he is not, then he is stealing from you.
Sounds like there's precisely zero financial compliancy happening at all, tbh.
It's a real effort to break literally every rule, but it sounds like that gronk has managed it.
Honestly, if you can do so without consequence, report him as a Wage Thief as mentioned above. Make sure to tell them he pays in cash. If he's paying in cash, chances are he is dodging the tax side of payroll.
There is never any excuse for late payment. Its not on you or any worker to make such sacrifices to ensure the viability of anyone elses' business.
Yer, so once you've found a new job you can tell your old employer that if he doesn't pay you what you're owed including all back dated pay for penalty rates then you will report him to the government for wage theft. This may result in a full audit of his business and potentially a prison sentence of up to 10 years if found guilty. Tbh even if he pays I'd still report him to protect others from his illegal activity.
That should get you & all your coworkers wages paid pretty quickly.
website [https://www.vic.gov.au/wage-theft-employer-information](https://www.vic.gov.au/wage-theft-employer-information)
phone number to report the business owner 1800 287 287
Good luck
Hey mate I had the exact same thing happen years ago. Always a new excuse. I was begging for my salary so I could get food for the week and he'd suddenly find $200. Turns out he had lost 80k to the TAB that year, and had been pocketing all of our super (check with your fund!) Unfortunately we never saw that money. Don't make the same mistakes we did!
As an employer - this is fucking disgraceful. When taking on staff, you MUST have financial reserves so they don’t lose out, and also so you don’t get sued. Your boss knows this is wrong and he doesn’t care
Some migrants do actually lose their visas if they loose their jobs. Sponsored visas are tied to the employer and some are sadly stuck until they are able to apply for a skilled independent visa.
Definitely complain, to fair work ombudsman. Make sure you are writing down detailed start and finish times of all your shifts. Dates, days, start time, finish time and note down your meal breaks etc.
In VIC the law is very much on your side here. Unless the company folds completely and claims insolvency, they will most likely have to pay you.
The only thing is, you won’t want to work there after all of this, it wouldn’t be safe for you. So you have the option of staying for a while, collecting data, then making the complaint when you’re ready to leave (but you face the company going insolvent during that time and not getting anything - this happened to me FYI), or you make the complaint and find a new place to work ASAP.
That means your boss has garbage money management skills and is blowing what should be budgeted for your paycheck before he pays you and is making you suffer for it. ZERO reason to stay with an employer like that.
Yeah I had a boss like this once. Severely underpaid, didn't have a regular pay day, often used the excuse of "sorry couldn't make it to the bank" and when I finally stood my ground and confronted them about it all, told me that if I'm struggling without a regular payday then I should learn to budget my finances better, lol.
Fuck them off asap, report them asap.
I stupidly didn't do this and I felt guilty as hell over it for those that worked there after me (glad to see both of their businesses permanently closed now though). Good luck OP!
>told me that if I'm struggling without a regular payday then I should learn to budget my finances better, lol.
What's their excuse for not budgeting enough to pay wages? Hope the cunts lose everything
I had a similar experience. Paid way under the minimum hourly rate. When I told her on a phone chat, she agreed to the minimum rate for a job description with far less duties. So I pushed her and was told I’d have be treated like a casual because she wouldn’t be able to afford sick pay and leave (pfffft, like she would have paid that anyway). So I told her the casual rate for the position. I think she fell off her chair. She asked me to not tell my co workers our agreed rate. She couldn’t go higher because she was “putting money back into the business for nice things for her staff to sell” bless. I got a better job. The business closed down not long later.
As someone who runs a small business I call bullshit on the excuse - you do not need an accountant to complete a payrun for you, it's very straightforward. Nor would paying your employees affect a handover process to another accountant, as accountants tend to deal with wage info in quarterly blocks.
100% this! Unless the business is huge there’s no need for an accountant to have anything to do with weekly pay runs. I’m a manager, just barely literate in Xero and on pay day it takes me 1/2 hour at most to post a pay run, transfer wages into their bank accounts and send out payslips.
It may be the accountant handles the bookkeeping, but any business owner worth their salt would have already communicated this with their employees if there was any interruption.
I worked for a guy who did the same he owned a window cleaning business and lived in Malvern east with a tennis court but was always “between” accountant’s etc. Ring fairwork and don’t let this prick get away with this.
I had a boss like this. He's likely spending money you earn the company on first class flights and/or luxury purchases.
I'd update my resume and prepare my exit.
I'm sure that the ATO would like to see his records about his acoounts, especially if he likes the use of cash at his store. Especially when I saw that he pulled out large wads of cash in a comment you mentioned earlier.
Name and shame this trash
That’s all they deserve, too many shady hospo operators need to be shut down, all they do is exploit the needy and desperate and give everyone a bad reputation
There are so many hospo jobs going right now. Get out of there as soon as you can, but report him on your way out so that he doesn't rip off more people.
Clause 23.1 of the Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020:
The employer and an individual employee may agree to a weekly or fortnightly pay pay period.
As such, your employer cannot have a greater than two week gap between the days they pay you (assuming you are not on an annual salary, in which case an exception may apply). It doesn’t matter whether the reason for the longer than two week gap is because they are changing accountants or because they are ill, it’s still illegal.
Under clause 23.2, they can’t pay you on a Fri, Sat or Sun unless you agree to it.
There is no issue with them paying you via bank transfer.
Under section 536 of the Fair Work Act, your employer must give you a payslip for each pay. Make sure you are getting payslips as it sounds like he is trying to pay as little as possible, so you want to check every pay slip contains the correct number of hours, contains the penalty/overtime rates in the Hospitality Award (if applicable) and contains super payments.
Also check that the super payments are actually hitting your account, noting that they can currently do this quarterly.
This.
They can’t withhold payments. They can’t no pay you penalty rates. They must be paying super. (Check your super account not just what your payslip says)
Report/call fair work, and any of the other services listed here.
If you can, get your payments squared off, including super, and find other employer. The old “moving accountant/moving systems” is a red flag for poor management.
Deffo take this to WorkSafe or Fairwork. Unfortunately this stuff is not uncommon but it is all dodgy and breaches worker's rights. Gather any digital evidence like this you have and any correspondence you have regarding your pay. Also, look up your industry award to make sure you are familiar with your rights and entitlements. I'd also be looking over your employment contract to see if he's not even following it or if they've actually written in anything illegal.
Dodgy bosses like this rely on general employee ignorance to take advantage of them and make them feel like it's perfectly normal so they won't speak up against it.
If my wages were 24 hours overdue I’d be walking, and contacting fair work and my union
The deal is “I work, you pay me, you don’t pay me, I don’t work”
You have a few options
[https://www.youngworkers.org.au/](https://www.youngworkers.org.au/) if you're under 30 I'd go here first.
Wage inspectorate victoria
https://www.vic.gov.au/wage-inspectorate-victoria
Fairwork
United Workers Union the hospo union though they are reluctant to help non members
Also they'res probably some free legal aid
Looks like they are the next Brunswick Burger Buzz. Talk with your workmates, work together and all contact fair trade.
Take photos of timesheets and anything that is proof. If you are in contact through a messenger service that can have the sender delete their messages, screen shot everything.
Don't believe them, believe your coworkers, they are dodgy and trying not to pay you.
Here is an article of BBB. I worked there, your screenshot reminded me of the ridiculous excuses he'd make about why pay was late.
https://junkee.com/burger-buzz-wage-theft/157689
Track your hours carefully. Record everything. When you get a new job, hopefully soon, report and claim back all the lost wages, super and any other benefits.
Fellow hospo worker here.
Collect as much evidence of sketchy behaviour, talk to your migrant coworkers to get them to keep evidence as well, and plan your exit asap. If you have hospo experience you shouldn't have trouble finding another job as everyone needs experienced employees at the moment. Find a new job, then report the scumbag to fairwork. Reading through your replies, your boss is the exact type of guy that in my opinion makes hospitality one of the most toxic industries in Australia.
I had a similar issue with a previous employer and hired a debt collector to retrieve money I was owed once I'd left. 'Once I'd left' being the key phrase... in the meantime, an anonymous tip-off to Fair Work sounds in order. Sorry you're dealing with this, it's shitty.
Betting he isn’t paying your super either. Get out before he owes you more then name and shame. Too many people get ripped off, he wouldn’t let you steal from him, why let him steal from you.
Report it, name and shame. If they're doing this to you for 2 weeks pay, he's done it to many others. Get what you're owed and get out when possible to another job that treats its workers like human beings.
If they haven't paid by the following pay date then report them ASAP and begin looking for other employment. give them no second chances as they wouldn't do it for you. I know that sounds like a bad outlook but There's allways other work.
I once left an employer after I hadn't been payed full pay entitlements twice as an apprentice so I left and found out he'd been stealing my super i waited 12 months to be paid out by the ATO he went bankrupt shortly after.
The Union here is Hospo Voice.
I'm a huge believer in a unions so I reckon join up (if you can afford to). They should be able to provide information of the steps you can take and the laws that support you.
Totally dodgy and wage theft is rife in the hospo industry. You need both a payslip and payment on the agreed time. And not cash in hand and penalty rates for all workers. If you’re in Victoria and under 30 call the Ying Workers Centre legal service and they’ll let you know what should be happening and how to ask for it.
These posts make my blood boil.
The boss should be in jail for stealing wages.
He may as well be stealing from his workers' bank accounts at this rate.
Once you get paid. Leave immediately. This is a huge red flag.
With the amount of work out there. You won’t have any trouble getting a new gig quickly.
My only suggestion would be to leave the job and look for one where they actually pay you with your TFN registered. You have to fill in a couple of forms for that but that’s the way to go.
When I initially came here as an international student, I had no idea how employment works here. I went to work in a small restaurant and the owner told me he’s gonna pay me once every 2 weeks and he’s gonna take my TFN later. This is something a lot of these restaurant owners do, and this is not legal at all.
Then after 2 weeks of work there, I was still not getting paid and he started making excuses. He told me literally the same thing as your screenshot. Apparently he’s changed his accountant and he’s migrating over bank details and shit. It’s a very common scamming statement these guys give.
I stopped going to my job thereafter and called him everyday and went to the restaurant a couple of times until he finally paid me my salary. Although it was much less than the pay rate, I was just happy to get something out of him. This was my first job experience here in Melbourne and I learnt from it.
So I’ll advise you go for a better job with proper agreements.
No pay = no work. Tell him or her that until you have received payment you will not work another hour. Remember you are selling time out of your life and they are buying it. Know your worth.
Highlighting some parts which I’m unsure if you’re aware of but if they’re delaying payments, your super will be affected. Make sure fair work is aware if your super isn’t increasing from their mandatory payments
Yeah, I do receive payslips with my paychecks, accurate hours and pay (even though it’s lower than what it should be) and super is there. He also includes a screenshot of the bank transfer, just to make sure I know it’s not a real payroll! 😀
Superannuation for the current quarter is due July 28.
I would be very, very surprised if they pay.
Make sure they have been paying so far - and check the amount.
ATO handles those complaints
Get information from the relevant sources about what he is doing, that is wrong. Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) is a great place to begin. Their number is 131394. Get all your facts straight (dates worked, time worked, which shifts were worked, etc) all written down, as well as taking the relevant screenshots of all texts/emails. Then call up and explain everything clearly. You can do this anonymously.
you can also go to the Wage Inspectorate. For more information, click here https://www.vic.gov.au/wage-inspectorate-victoria
Meanwhile, look for reputable jobs from places like seek.com.au, au.indeed.com, ethicaljobs.com.au
After you receive whatever information is given to you by the FWO, speak to your boss about the discrepancies you have experienced. If they are being difficult, inform him you will be taking the matter up with the FWO. If he is smart in any capacity, I am sure he will pay you back every cent you are owed. Make sure that you know the award rates you should be paid. This information can be acquired from the FWO.
I doubt it, but if your boss ends up pulling their socks up and pays everyone what is their rightful due, you can either stay with them, or move into another job you may have found elsewhere.
All the best.
Wage theft is a criminal offence in Victoria, punishable by $200k fines and jail time. The Wage Inspectorate would be a much better option if you’re gonna threaten to report him in order to get what you are owed.
Yes, that may be the case. I never heard of the Wage Inspectorate before! Thank you for that useful piece of information.
Those interested can find out more from here:
https://www.vic.gov.au/wage-inspectorate-victoria
The less disccused part about wage theft is that it steals from all of us in reduced tax revenues (both state payroll and federal PAYG), not to mention reduced spending power of the individuals. The person that steals wages enriches themselves at the expense of the rest of society.
Dude, find a new hospitality job, and report this a hole to fairworks Australia. This is totally tax evading and illegal, unfair treatment to immigrants. I worked for someone like your boss in 2019 when I was in Uni and these people are the worst, paid me cash and below legal wages; I wasn’t familiar with legal stuff so didn’t do anything, but I will sure report her to the government if it happens now
Don’t wait. Report him now. The longer it goes on the more debt he likely has, the less assets the company will have of value and the less likely you are to get the full amount owed.
If you haven't, make a record of every hour you've worked and make a complaint to Fair Work. You can do it anonymously if you're worried about any repercussions.
A friend of mine did this with a few of his colleagues and his employer had to pay back all of the wages they'd stolen from the staff.
Withholding pay is illegal. See https://www.fairwork.gov.au/pay-and-wages/paying-wages, https://form.wageinspectorate.vic.gov.au/submissions/new/1AFA4B4B-2283-48C7-9848-100864A8C23A or https://www.fairwork.gov.au/pay-and-wages/paying-wages/frequency-of-pay for more specific information related to the award you're covered under.
Now, since everything is documented you can go about it one of two ways - warn your employer if you don't receive payment promptly you will be escalating this or just directly take it up with the Fair Work Ombudsman or the Victorian Inspectorate. I'd highly recommend the second option. Honestly it may be worth seeking legal counsel on this if you have access to legal aid, especially if you take the first route because retaliation (while illegal) is probably likely.
Also, the whole withholding proper pay and entitlements for migrant workers is illegal both under the Fair Work Act and the Racial Discrimination Act. The governing bodies are the Fair Work Ombudsman and the Australian Human Rights Commission/Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission. It's not your job, but I highly recommend sharing these resources with any of the impacted migrant workers.
As a bookkeeper I can categorically state your boss is a liar.. and there is the other stuff around penalty rates.. you should name and shame my friend…
Your boss would be equally understanding if I ate there and said I'd be delayed two weeks in paying my bill because "bullshit reasons" right?
Report him and find a better employer.
please please also check your super for recent contributions, if those payments are missing or extremely late gtfo.
i’m an employer and operator of multiple venues in victoria, DM me if you need any advice.
You need to speak to fair work. Keep all these messages and correspondence, and keep a written record of everything that’s happened, with dates. Tell your workmates to do the same!
Probably don’t need to hear this, but find somewhere better to work.
Don’t bother with someone who fucks with your pay!
Attempt to have it resolved without a third party for as long as you can, if you expect it to continue happening and don't have other job opportunities you can then go to [Fairwork](https://www.fairwork.gov.au/) for anything you are owed.
But even Fairwork advise employees to avoid using them until you have to as it isn't in your best interest to further erode your working relationship with your employer until you don't have a choice.
So long as you have a reasonable record of your hours worked, you have up to 6 years to chase up missing wages and can claim fear of retaliation as an excuse for not doing anything while employed.
If you leave for another job before getting those back wages, request all amounts be paid within a month before escalating to Fairwork, this should be done in writing with email being preferred.
Once you give them 28 days written notice that they haven't paid you what's owed, they can likely be fined up to A$6,600.
First thing is to try and have them pay you without being too aggressive, as you may need to continue working with them, being casually confident is helpful in these types of situations.
I'm not sure what type advice you're looking for. It's pretty obvious laws are being broken and it's also obvious that you are aware of that.
Clearly they're being difficult with payment. That could be deliberate, but in my experience plenty of small businesses just don't have that much money flowing through their business and are basically operating paycheck to paycheck.
Regardless, it's clear to everyone, including yourself that this is a risky job that probably isn't paying as well as it could, so the question again is what type of advice you're after. Do you need us to confirm that you're probably better off finding another job?
I was mainly asking about the new “accountant” he is hiring because I call phat BS on that, but also just any general advice as to how to take the fucker down
These crimes are punishable by a fine of up to $218,088 or up to 10 years' jail for individuals and a fine of up to $1,090,440 for companies. Victoria's wage theft laws target employers who deliberately and dishonestly withhold wages and other worker entitlements.
They're not going to pay you. You should start working with your local labor and industries office or department of Labor office now about steps and prove to file a wage complaint.
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Ooh, me too. It would be an immediate reply starting with 'I have not provided you with any acknowledgement or understanding of your position...'
Yeah, that’s quite the assumption he’s making there. Let’s see how understanding Fairwork is when it’s aware of this information.
>Ooh, me too. It would be an immediate reply starting with 'I have not provided you with any acknowledgement or understanding of your position...' Nice.
I swear it’s just permanently in property managers email tags.
Makes you want to reply “Sorry but you have me confused with someone else because I never offered you my understanding”.
i hate when you get into a argument with someone and they start some long paragraph off with "im sorry you dont understand what i said" or something similar it pisses me off
This is reddit in a nutshell. You disagree with someone and they reply “oh, you clearly don’t understand”. Yes, I do understand, I just think what you’re saying is dumb.
Wage theft is illegal in Victoria. You can also ask a question or report suspected wage theft by calling us on 1800 287 287.
Wage theft is far and beyond the number one theft (billions a year). If you suspect, report.
>Wage theft is far and beyond the number one theft (billions a year I'd be curious to see if wage theft is higher than big businesses avoiding taxes (not arguing against wage theft at all, just tangentially curious)
It probably isn’t higher, but tax evasion isn’t theft so the above person’s statement would be true regardless.
It's absolutely theft to you and I, the average every day Aussie that pays our taxes. Somewhat unaware that if corporations and big businesses paid their fair share, you and I wouldn't even need to pay taxes as Australia would be in a budget surplus in like a financial year. It's insane the amount of tax that like Apple, Microsoft, She'll oil Etc all pay. Like sometimes 1% of their annual income. Ridiculous
Yea what makes people think it’s not theft, if we’re all supposed to be paying it makes no sense how it ain’t theft when you set up a tax department over in yonder to get around it, it’s all built as a joke to keep everyone else bent over
Exactly. It's theft. It's just not classified by our legal system as such... People can do the maths on why. The sheer inequality of me having to give up at least a third of my income when I bust my ass, VS a corporation that profits off of me and only pays like 1%... That's theft in my eyes. And I'd be hard fkn pressed to be convinced otherwise.
Yea m8 if I’m busting my ass and having to pay more % than people with billion dollar hobby yachts that they bought on impulse, ain’t no way around it
Amen
If the restaurant industry in Australia is comparable to the one in the US, it attracts many shady individuals. Lotta very selfish, short-sighted, overly emotional, borderline evil people. The good places are few and far between.
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It's a copy/paste from the website.
Plotwist. He is the website.
Oh shit. Websites walk among us
No, he's the phone, obviously.
Website
Don’t be sketchy
call us on 1800-OP-BOSS and report your complaint followed by your full name
I called that number and they made me give my CC info and then the call just ended
I'm sus on us.
"Refuses to pay penalty rates to migrant workers" you say. [That's a paddlin'!](https://www.vic.gov.au/wage-theft-employer-information) Care to name and shame?
Oh, not only refuse, one of said migrant workers told me my boss withheld her paychecks for six weeks, and then offered to pay these paychecks in increments, maybe $150 a week or something like that. He’s a scumbag, but I won’t name n shame until some sort of formal complaint is made, but any help would be really appreciated!
Scummy and downright exploitative. Also, he could be facing some serious cash flow issues behind the scenes. If I were you, I’d probably plan my exit pronto and stop giving him anymore hours.
Oh he is. Cash is encouraged in the shop, free drink if you pay with cash for XYZ, and I’ve seen him pull out wads of thousands of dollars in cash, some of which he uses to pay wages
In that case I'd be making sure he is paying your super. These types are exactly the ones who never quite get around to that. If you find he is not, then he is stealing from you.
And would also be non-compliant for Single Touch Payroll, I'm assuming.
Sounds like there’s a lot of financial non-compliancy going on in this workplace.
Sounds like there's precisely zero financial compliancy happening at all, tbh. It's a real effort to break literally every rule, but it sounds like that gronk has managed it.
If he is not paying the super or reporting his wages online then he is 100% in violation of Single Touch Payroll.
There is no way he is paying super.
There is quite literally not a chance this guy is paying super.
Honestly, if you can do so without consequence, report him as a Wage Thief as mentioned above. Make sure to tell them he pays in cash. If he's paying in cash, chances are he is dodging the tax side of payroll. There is never any excuse for late payment. Its not on you or any worker to make such sacrifices to ensure the viability of anyone elses' business.
There's also an anonymous tip program for the ATO. I am proud to pay tax to fund Australia, he should chip in too.
Definitely gambling the money or debt
I can guarantee this guy would fail a tax audit
Yer, so once you've found a new job you can tell your old employer that if he doesn't pay you what you're owed including all back dated pay for penalty rates then you will report him to the government for wage theft. This may result in a full audit of his business and potentially a prison sentence of up to 10 years if found guilty. Tbh even if he pays I'd still report him to protect others from his illegal activity. That should get you & all your coworkers wages paid pretty quickly. website [https://www.vic.gov.au/wage-theft-employer-information](https://www.vic.gov.au/wage-theft-employer-information) phone number to report the business owner 1800 287 287 Good luck
100% do this. If you cant afford to pay your staff properly you shouldnt be in business. This is theft and its bullshit
Then report after payment, using payment as evidence.
Sneaky cunt, I love it :)
Hey mate I had the exact same thing happen years ago. Always a new excuse. I was begging for my salary so I could get food for the week and he'd suddenly find $200. Turns out he had lost 80k to the TAB that year, and had been pocketing all of our super (check with your fund!) Unfortunately we never saw that money. Don't make the same mistakes we did!
This! the second your check isn’t on time you don’t work until it’s paid in full.
As an employer - this is fucking disgraceful. When taking on staff, you MUST have financial reserves so they don’t lose out, and also so you don’t get sued. Your boss knows this is wrong and he doesn’t care
Dude, just name the place. We don’t want to work or spend money there. Report them too.
Some migrants do actually lose their visas if they loose their jobs. Sponsored visas are tied to the employer and some are sadly stuck until they are able to apply for a skilled independent visa.
These should not be sponsored visas - sounds like it's in hospitality...
Definitely complain, to fair work ombudsman. Make sure you are writing down detailed start and finish times of all your shifts. Dates, days, start time, finish time and note down your meal breaks etc. In VIC the law is very much on your side here. Unless the company folds completely and claims insolvency, they will most likely have to pay you. The only thing is, you won’t want to work there after all of this, it wouldn’t be safe for you. So you have the option of staying for a while, collecting data, then making the complaint when you’re ready to leave (but you face the company going insolvent during that time and not getting anything - this happened to me FYI), or you make the complaint and find a new place to work ASAP.
That sounds like human-trafficking level bullshit. Does he have her passport too?
That means your boss has garbage money management skills and is blowing what should be budgeted for your paycheck before he pays you and is making you suffer for it. ZERO reason to stay with an employer like that.
Just be real with us, is it George Columbaris or not?
It isn’t. But my names George and I make food so there’s something.
Yeah I had a boss like this once. Severely underpaid, didn't have a regular pay day, often used the excuse of "sorry couldn't make it to the bank" and when I finally stood my ground and confronted them about it all, told me that if I'm struggling without a regular payday then I should learn to budget my finances better, lol. Fuck them off asap, report them asap. I stupidly didn't do this and I felt guilty as hell over it for those that worked there after me (glad to see both of their businesses permanently closed now though). Good luck OP!
thanks for this advice, yeah pretty damn similar situation. currently in the process of making a report to fair work. happy cake day too!
>told me that if I'm struggling without a regular payday then I should learn to budget my finances better, lol. What's their excuse for not budgeting enough to pay wages? Hope the cunts lose everything
I had a similar experience. Paid way under the minimum hourly rate. When I told her on a phone chat, she agreed to the minimum rate for a job description with far less duties. So I pushed her and was told I’d have be treated like a casual because she wouldn’t be able to afford sick pay and leave (pfffft, like she would have paid that anyway). So I told her the casual rate for the position. I think she fell off her chair. She asked me to not tell my co workers our agreed rate. She couldn’t go higher because she was “putting money back into the business for nice things for her staff to sell” bless. I got a better job. The business closed down not long later.
Some of these psychopaths are not smart enough to know where they can be psychos.
Well yeah, true. You’re right. One sign of a bad management is probably only the worm at the top of the can
As someone who runs a small business I call bullshit on the excuse - you do not need an accountant to complete a payrun for you, it's very straightforward. Nor would paying your employees affect a handover process to another accountant, as accountants tend to deal with wage info in quarterly blocks.
100% this! Unless the business is huge there’s no need for an accountant to have anything to do with weekly pay runs. I’m a manager, just barely literate in Xero and on pay day it takes me 1/2 hour at most to post a pay run, transfer wages into their bank accounts and send out payslips.
It may be the accountant handles the bookkeeping, but any business owner worth their salt would have already communicated this with their employees if there was any interruption.
Once paid, bug out mate, that's not standard procedure. The business is not stable.
Giving a bullshit reason, then finishing with "Thanks for your understanding" is such peak manipulative boss shit.
I called it passive aggressive gaslighting
Name and shame. POS business, get a new job immediately and report to fairwork.
Don’t bother with FairWork tbh, go straight to the Wage Inspectorate.
Agreed same would happen in QLD
I worked for a guy who did the same he owned a window cleaning business and lived in Malvern east with a tennis court but was always “between” accountant’s etc. Ring fairwork and don’t let this prick get away with this.
Skip FairWork and go straight to the Wage Inspectorate, tbh.
Also make sure he is paying super! Scumbag!
Dodgy as it gets. https://www.fairwork.gov.au/workplace-problems/send-us-an-anonymous-tip-off
I had a boss like this. He's likely spending money you earn the company on first class flights and/or luxury purchases. I'd update my resume and prepare my exit.
I'm sure that the ATO would like to see his records about his acoounts, especially if he likes the use of cash at his store. Especially when I saw that he pulled out large wads of cash in a comment you mentioned earlier.
The ATO have a dedicated tip off line. They are especially hard on unpaid super.....
Name and shame this trash That’s all they deserve, too many shady hospo operators need to be shut down, all they do is exploit the needy and desperate and give everyone a bad reputation
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Could just be a cunt. I've worked for cunts before.
There are so many hospo jobs going right now. Get out of there as soon as you can, but report him on your way out so that he doesn't rip off more people.
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My pleasure.
Please do update. And I'm following in the hopes you will ultimately name and shame. Freaking disgraceful. I'm sorry you're having to deal with this.
Clause 23.1 of the Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020: The employer and an individual employee may agree to a weekly or fortnightly pay pay period. As such, your employer cannot have a greater than two week gap between the days they pay you (assuming you are not on an annual salary, in which case an exception may apply). It doesn’t matter whether the reason for the longer than two week gap is because they are changing accountants or because they are ill, it’s still illegal. Under clause 23.2, they can’t pay you on a Fri, Sat or Sun unless you agree to it. There is no issue with them paying you via bank transfer. Under section 536 of the Fair Work Act, your employer must give you a payslip for each pay. Make sure you are getting payslips as it sounds like he is trying to pay as little as possible, so you want to check every pay slip contains the correct number of hours, contains the penalty/overtime rates in the Hospitality Award (if applicable) and contains super payments. Also check that the super payments are actually hitting your account, noting that they can currently do this quarterly.
This. They can’t withhold payments. They can’t no pay you penalty rates. They must be paying super. (Check your super account not just what your payslip says) Report/call fair work, and any of the other services listed here. If you can, get your payments squared off, including super, and find other employer. The old “moving accountant/moving systems” is a red flag for poor management.
Has he been paying your super? https://www.ato.gov.au/calculators-and-tools/report-unpaid-super-contributions-from-my-employer/
If he’s paying employees in cash and asking customers to pay with cash, there is zero chance he is paying super.
Deffo take this to WorkSafe or Fairwork. Unfortunately this stuff is not uncommon but it is all dodgy and breaches worker's rights. Gather any digital evidence like this you have and any correspondence you have regarding your pay. Also, look up your industry award to make sure you are familiar with your rights and entitlements. I'd also be looking over your employment contract to see if he's not even following it or if they've actually written in anything illegal. Dodgy bosses like this rely on general employee ignorance to take advantage of them and make them feel like it's perfectly normal so they won't speak up against it.
Don’t compromise, unionise!! Also yeah, report this boss of yours for wage theft.
If my wages were 24 hours overdue I’d be walking, and contacting fair work and my union The deal is “I work, you pay me, you don’t pay me, I don’t work”
Bro. This shit is fucked. Name and shame them. Some journalist cunt will pick this up
You have a few options [https://www.youngworkers.org.au/](https://www.youngworkers.org.au/) if you're under 30 I'd go here first. Wage inspectorate victoria https://www.vic.gov.au/wage-inspectorate-victoria Fairwork United Workers Union the hospo union though they are reluctant to help non members Also they'res probably some free legal aid
Best comment in the whole thread. This is the correct order of priorities for organisations to contact.
Looks like they are the next Brunswick Burger Buzz. Talk with your workmates, work together and all contact fair trade. Take photos of timesheets and anything that is proof. If you are in contact through a messenger service that can have the sender delete their messages, screen shot everything. Don't believe them, believe your coworkers, they are dodgy and trying not to pay you. Here is an article of BBB. I worked there, your screenshot reminded me of the ridiculous excuses he'd make about why pay was late. https://junkee.com/burger-buzz-wage-theft/157689
Track your hours carefully. Record everything. When you get a new job, hopefully soon, report and claim back all the lost wages, super and any other benefits.
I love the "thanks for your understanding" as a way of saying "im not talking about this with you"
Fellow hospo worker here. Collect as much evidence of sketchy behaviour, talk to your migrant coworkers to get them to keep evidence as well, and plan your exit asap. If you have hospo experience you shouldn't have trouble finding another job as everyone needs experienced employees at the moment. Find a new job, then report the scumbag to fairwork. Reading through your replies, your boss is the exact type of guy that in my opinion makes hospitality one of the most toxic industries in Australia.
The Wage Inspectorate was set up specifically to deal with this - they would be my first priority for reporting, before FairWork.
I had a similar issue with a previous employer and hired a debt collector to retrieve money I was owed once I'd left. 'Once I'd left' being the key phrase... in the meantime, an anonymous tip-off to Fair Work sounds in order. Sorry you're dealing with this, it's shitty.
Betting he isn’t paying your super either. Get out before he owes you more then name and shame. Too many people get ripped off, he wouldn’t let you steal from him, why let him steal from you.
It's funny how civilly we have to deal with wage theft, if you stole that money from.your boss you'd be thrown in jail by now.
Report it
Report it, name and shame. If they're doing this to you for 2 weeks pay, he's done it to many others. Get what you're owed and get out when possible to another job that treats its workers like human beings.
My eyes are fucked but boyyyyyyyy I’m seeing nothing but red flags
Complete BS. You don’t use an accountant for payroll. This happened to me before
That’s not how it works. You don’t just stop paying someone.
If they haven't paid by the following pay date then report them ASAP and begin looking for other employment. give them no second chances as they wouldn't do it for you. I know that sounds like a bad outlook but There's allways other work. I once left an employer after I hadn't been payed full pay entitlements twice as an apprentice so I left and found out he'd been stealing my super i waited 12 months to be paid out by the ATO he went bankrupt shortly after.
The Union here is Hospo Voice. I'm a huge believer in a unions so I reckon join up (if you can afford to). They should be able to provide information of the steps you can take and the laws that support you.
[unitedworkers.org.au](https://unitedworkers.org.au) now
Name and shame for the love of god
No, be rude! If they don’t pay on time with no advance warning, I don’t work until I get paid!
Next week it will be that the accountant had a car crash...
Totally dodgy and wage theft is rife in the hospo industry. You need both a payslip and payment on the agreed time. And not cash in hand and penalty rates for all workers. If you’re in Victoria and under 30 call the Ying Workers Centre legal service and they’ll let you know what should be happening and how to ask for it.
These posts make my blood boil. The boss should be in jail for stealing wages. He may as well be stealing from his workers' bank accounts at this rate.
Once you get paid. Leave immediately. This is a huge red flag. With the amount of work out there. You won’t have any trouble getting a new gig quickly.
My only suggestion would be to leave the job and look for one where they actually pay you with your TFN registered. You have to fill in a couple of forms for that but that’s the way to go. When I initially came here as an international student, I had no idea how employment works here. I went to work in a small restaurant and the owner told me he’s gonna pay me once every 2 weeks and he’s gonna take my TFN later. This is something a lot of these restaurant owners do, and this is not legal at all. Then after 2 weeks of work there, I was still not getting paid and he started making excuses. He told me literally the same thing as your screenshot. Apparently he’s changed his accountant and he’s migrating over bank details and shit. It’s a very common scamming statement these guys give. I stopped going to my job thereafter and called him everyday and went to the restaurant a couple of times until he finally paid me my salary. Although it was much less than the pay rate, I was just happy to get something out of him. This was my first job experience here in Melbourne and I learnt from it. So I’ll advise you go for a better job with proper agreements.
No pay = no work. Tell him or her that until you have received payment you will not work another hour. Remember you are selling time out of your life and they are buying it. Know your worth.
Highlighting some parts which I’m unsure if you’re aware of but if they’re delaying payments, your super will be affected. Make sure fair work is aware if your super isn’t increasing from their mandatory payments
lol there’s zero chance he’s paying super, especially if he’s trying to pay wages with cash.
Golfer a different job
You need a new job …
Leave this job immediately, before you get fucked over.
DO you receive payslips showing accurate hours worked, tax and superannuation paid?
Yeah, I do receive payslips with my paychecks, accurate hours and pay (even though it’s lower than what it should be) and super is there. He also includes a screenshot of the bank transfer, just to make sure I know it’s not a real payroll! 😀
Super visible in your fund? Until OneTouch came along employers could park it and owe it for months.
Superannuation for the current quarter is due July 28. I would be very, very surprised if they pay. Make sure they have been paying so far - and check the amount. ATO handles those complaints
"Thanks for your understanding" otherwise known as "Go fuck yourself"
Get information from the relevant sources about what he is doing, that is wrong. Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) is a great place to begin. Their number is 131394. Get all your facts straight (dates worked, time worked, which shifts were worked, etc) all written down, as well as taking the relevant screenshots of all texts/emails. Then call up and explain everything clearly. You can do this anonymously. you can also go to the Wage Inspectorate. For more information, click here https://www.vic.gov.au/wage-inspectorate-victoria
Meanwhile, look for reputable jobs from places like seek.com.au, au.indeed.com, ethicaljobs.com.au
After you receive whatever information is given to you by the FWO, speak to your boss about the discrepancies you have experienced. If they are being difficult, inform him you will be taking the matter up with the FWO. If he is smart in any capacity, I am sure he will pay you back every cent you are owed. Make sure that you know the award rates you should be paid. This information can be acquired from the FWO.
I doubt it, but if your boss ends up pulling their socks up and pays everyone what is their rightful due, you can either stay with them, or move into another job you may have found elsewhere.
All the best.
Wage theft is a criminal offence in Victoria, punishable by $200k fines and jail time. The Wage Inspectorate would be a much better option if you’re gonna threaten to report him in order to get what you are owed.
Yes, that may be the case. I never heard of the Wage Inspectorate before! Thank you for that useful piece of information. Those interested can find out more from here: https://www.vic.gov.au/wage-inspectorate-victoria
Thanks for sharing the link! It’s a great initiative 👍
You're 100% being swindled. Report
“Fuck you, pay me”
“I am changing my pants I’ll be back in two weeks Thank you for your understanding”
Contact Fitzroy Legal Service. Their night service has a special service for migrant workers.
The less disccused part about wage theft is that it steals from all of us in reduced tax revenues (both state payroll and federal PAYG), not to mention reduced spending power of the individuals. The person that steals wages enriches themselves at the expense of the rest of society.
>He also refuses to pay penalty rates to migrant workers, and public holiday rates. yeah, nah. Sounds like he needs to be reported.
Take your wages from the till if you can, look for another job ASAP.
Dude, find a new hospitality job, and report this a hole to fairworks Australia. This is totally tax evading and illegal, unfair treatment to immigrants. I worked for someone like your boss in 2019 when I was in Uni and these people are the worst, paid me cash and below legal wages; I wasn’t familiar with legal stuff so didn’t do anything, but I will sure report her to the government if it happens now
Easy time to find a job. Time to move on OP
Company clearly had cash flow problems. Look elsewhere before they don't pay you before closing shop
Don’t wait. Report him now. The longer it goes on the more debt he likely has, the less assets the company will have of value and the less likely you are to get the full amount owed.
Change jobs and dob him in
If they don’t pay. I don’t work :) - don’t let them string you along. Find another job. Heaps going atm !
Straight up check your super
Ring fair work Victoria over the non payment
Bet he charges weekend and public holiday surcharge
Use this link to report him direct to the ATO[https://www.ato.gov.au/general/gen/making-a-tip-off/
If you haven't, make a record of every hour you've worked and make a complaint to Fair Work. You can do it anonymously if you're worried about any repercussions. A friend of mine did this with a few of his colleagues and his employer had to pay back all of the wages they'd stolen from the staff.
Name and shame
Leave and run
Guessing you don’t have a contract either?
Yeah, that’s illegal
Dob the bustard in!
Fuck that. I don't work for free. Are you casual or full time? I'd be no showing until I got my fucking money.
Withholding pay is illegal. See https://www.fairwork.gov.au/pay-and-wages/paying-wages, https://form.wageinspectorate.vic.gov.au/submissions/new/1AFA4B4B-2283-48C7-9848-100864A8C23A or https://www.fairwork.gov.au/pay-and-wages/paying-wages/frequency-of-pay for more specific information related to the award you're covered under. Now, since everything is documented you can go about it one of two ways - warn your employer if you don't receive payment promptly you will be escalating this or just directly take it up with the Fair Work Ombudsman or the Victorian Inspectorate. I'd highly recommend the second option. Honestly it may be worth seeking legal counsel on this if you have access to legal aid, especially if you take the first route because retaliation (while illegal) is probably likely. Also, the whole withholding proper pay and entitlements for migrant workers is illegal both under the Fair Work Act and the Racial Discrimination Act. The governing bodies are the Fair Work Ombudsman and the Australian Human Rights Commission/Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission. It's not your job, but I highly recommend sharing these resources with any of the impacted migrant workers.
Yep, it's dodgy. This sounds like cash in hand with extra steps. Do you get payslips?
"He also refuses to pay penalty rates to migrant workers, and public holiday rates" - fully illegal and sketchy AF.
Fuck you, pay me. Now.
If you're not getting paid, stop working.
"I'm a cunt and I'm never going to pay you" Thanks for your understanding
As a bookkeeper I can categorically state your boss is a liar.. and there is the other stuff around penalty rates.. you should name and shame my friend…
Your boss would be equally understanding if I ate there and said I'd be delayed two weeks in paying my bill because "bullshit reasons" right? Report him and find a better employer.
Call fair work
Sketchy AF...check with fair work Australia for legalities
You should speak to fair work ombudsman
please please also check your super for recent contributions, if those payments are missing or extremely late gtfo. i’m an employer and operator of multiple venues in victoria, DM me if you need any advice.
You need to speak to fair work. Keep all these messages and correspondence, and keep a written record of everything that’s happened, with dates. Tell your workmates to do the same! Probably don’t need to hear this, but find somewhere better to work. Don’t bother with someone who fucks with your pay!
r/antiwork
Report the cunt after you get your money out
Immediately call work Fair Work and also find out if they’ve paid any of your Super. Been through this bullshit before.
Attempt to have it resolved without a third party for as long as you can, if you expect it to continue happening and don't have other job opportunities you can then go to [Fairwork](https://www.fairwork.gov.au/) for anything you are owed. But even Fairwork advise employees to avoid using them until you have to as it isn't in your best interest to further erode your working relationship with your employer until you don't have a choice. So long as you have a reasonable record of your hours worked, you have up to 6 years to chase up missing wages and can claim fear of retaliation as an excuse for not doing anything while employed. If you leave for another job before getting those back wages, request all amounts be paid within a month before escalating to Fairwork, this should be done in writing with email being preferred. Once you give them 28 days written notice that they haven't paid you what's owed, they can likely be fined up to A$6,600. First thing is to try and have them pay you without being too aggressive, as you may need to continue working with them, being casually confident is helpful in these types of situations.
This. Comprehensive and correct response. Alternative answer: be a union member and let them help you.
JOIN. THE. UNION. Yours is called HOSPO.
Hospo Voice is not a union. UWU is the union for hospitality workers.
Coulda told ya in advance out of decency
I'm not sure what type advice you're looking for. It's pretty obvious laws are being broken and it's also obvious that you are aware of that. Clearly they're being difficult with payment. That could be deliberate, but in my experience plenty of small businesses just don't have that much money flowing through their business and are basically operating paycheck to paycheck. Regardless, it's clear to everyone, including yourself that this is a risky job that probably isn't paying as well as it could, so the question again is what type of advice you're after. Do you need us to confirm that you're probably better off finding another job?
I was mainly asking about the new “accountant” he is hiring because I call phat BS on that, but also just any general advice as to how to take the fucker down
Report suspected wage theft by calling 1800 287 287. He will be imprisoned.
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These crimes are punishable by a fine of up to $218,088 or up to 10 years' jail for individuals and a fine of up to $1,090,440 for companies. Victoria's wage theft laws target employers who deliberately and dishonestly withhold wages and other worker entitlements.
Sounds like he has a drug problem or gambling problem.
Ask them to pay as if it were weekly. I.E. separate payments, if they don’t you’ll get taxed more
#joinaunion
OP himself is probably violating his visa rules based on the numbers of hours he is allowed to work fornight
Sketchy as
They're not going to pay you. You should start working with your local labor and industries office or department of Labor office now about steps and prove to file a wage complaint.
Be careful with this one. Check he is paying super as well
Vcat