Hotel manager must repay compensation after working secret second job
A hotel manager has been ordered to pay back more than $60,000 in workers compensation after being caught working at another pub.
According to a Personal Injury Commission (PIC) judgment published last month, Jonalee Kopko filed for psychological injury benefits just two months after being hired at Twin Willows hotel in Bass Hill in 2022.
While receiving the payments, Kopko claimed she was too sick to wok.
However, she had secretly taken a job at Cambridge Tavern in Fairfield.
The deception was uncovered when a staff member spotted Kopko working at Twin Willows and informed owner Arthur Laundy.
In February, the PIC ordered Kopko to repay $50,000 within 60 days.
“Mr Laundy explained that he was made aware by patrons of the hotel that the respondent had been seen performing duties at the Cambridge Tavern at Fairfield,” the Commission’s decision stated.
“This was in approximately October 2022, when her workers compensation claim was ongoing and payments were being made for incapacity.”
Kopko was also captured in surveillance footage inside the pokies room, the PIC said.
She failed to repay the money in the time set by the PIC and must now pay $64,253.
“Workers comp is there to support people who genuinely can’t work, helping them to recover and return to work,” HII CEO Angus McCullagh said.
The decision by the PIC was the first of its kind and was welcomed by Australian Hotels Association deputy chief executive Sean Morrissey who said it set a “strong precedent”.
“Historically, not enough has been done to combat (this sort of situation), which is costing employers across the state millions of dollars,” he said.
NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey announced plans last month to change the workers compensation system, making psychological injury claims more difficult to file.
He explained that claims for issues like stress, bullying, and burnout have increased dramatically. This surge is costing the state billions of dollars and threatening the entire system.
Mookhey warned that without these reforms, the workers compensation program could fail completely due to financial pressure.
Jonathan Jackson, 22nd April 2025
