Ex-Glebe cafe operators hit with $124,000 in penalties

The former operators of a Sydney cafe have faced the Fair Work Ombudsman in court, which has ended with fines exceeding $124,000.

Co-directors of More Than Skin Pty Ltd Lila Stojcevski and Lupo Stojcevski previously ran The Noshery cafe in Glebe, and were found to have underpaid employees.

Three workers including two international students and a working holiday visa holder were underpaid for various periods between September and December 2020 and two were not provided with pay slips.

Despite Fair Work issuing three compliance notices in 2021, the workers were not back-paid their minimum casual wage entitlements and casual penalty entitlements.

“When compliance notices are not followed, we will continue to take legal action,” says Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth.

“Employers who fail to act on these notices risk substantial penalties and back-pay orders.

“There is also no excuse for not issuing pay slips to your workers, as the law demands.”

The matter was recently heard in court, with Judge Sophie Given finding “the company and individual respondents had shown no contrition nor taken any responsibility for their conduct, and that Ms Stojcevski was ‘deliberately uncooperative’ during her dealings with the FWO”.

Judge Given found there was a need to impose “substantial” penalties and noted the workers still had not been backpaid.

“The failure to comply with the compliance notices and to issue payslips was done in conscious disregard for the company’s obligations as an employer and that the involvement of the individual respondents was equally deliberate and indifferent despite those obligations,” said Judge Given.

More Than Skin was issued with $99,900 in penalties, with Ms Stojcevski penalised $20,379.60, and Mr Stojcevski fined $3,996.

The court has also ordered the company to back-pay the workers in full plus superannuation and interest.

“Employers ignore the FWO, and moreover the orders of the Court, at their peril,” said Judge Given.