Former Melbourne café operator faces court
Monaco Willows Pty Ltd, the operator behind Melbourne’s recently closed Tusk Cafe, and its sole director Francis Placentino are facing legal action after allegedly breaching the Fair Work Act.
The Fair Work Commission began legal action against Monaco Willows because the operator allegedly unlawfully deducted money from a worker and underpaid wages and entitlements.
Monaco Willows employed a visa holder as a full-time chef between October 2021 and April 2023. The worker requested assistance from Fair Work, alleging that Monaco Willows had deducted pay from their salary.
The company allegedly made $3,610 unlawful deductions for food, coffee, and drinks without the worker’s authorisation, as is required under the Fair Work Act.
A Fair Work inspector also believes that the worker was underpaid minimum wages, public holiday and overtime rates, and annual leave entitlements.
Placentino’s Tusk Cafe, located on Chapel Street in Windsor, was a well-known institution. It operated for more than two decades before closing earlier this year. Placentino is also the operator of the now closed High Bar, which was located in the building behind Tusk.
The regulator issued a compliance notice to Monaco Willows which required the company to calculate and back pay the entitlements, but it failed to adhere to the notice.
“Unlawful deductions from workers’ wages, like we are alleging to have happened in this matter, are unacceptable,” said Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth.
“Deductions are lawful only in a limited range of situations, and employers must understand those laws. We have a range of information to help employers get it right, including on our deducting pay webpage.”
Monaco Willows faces a penalty of up to $93,000. Placentino is also implicated in the allegations and faces a penalty of up to $18,780. Monaco Willows and Placentino are facing additional penalties for the alleged failure to follow Fair Work’s compliance notice.
The FWO has resources on our website for visa holder workers, who have the same rights as all other workers.
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