Melbourne café fined $8000
The Fair Work Ombudsman has secured a $7,995 penalty in court against a company director formerly involved in operating a Melbourne café, for breaches of the Fair Work Act including unlawfully deducting money from a migrant worker’s wages.
The penalty against Francis Placentino was ordered in the Federal Circuit and Family Court.
Mr Placentino was the sole director and secretary of Monaco Willows Pty Ltd, which operated the Tusk cafe in Windsor.
In addition to the penalty, the Court has ordered Monaco Willows to pay $3,610 compensation to the worker.
The Fair Work Ombudsman investigated after receiving a request for assistance from a visa holder Monaco Willows employed at Tusk as a full-time chef between October 2021 and April 2023.
Mr Placentino was involved in the company making deductions from the worker’s fortnightly pay – which it described as being for food, coffee and drinks – without the worker’s authorisation in writing (or at all), as required under the Fair Work Act.
This resulted in a total of $3,610 in unpermitted deductions over the course of the worker’s employment period.
During the investigation, a Fair Work Inspector formed a belief that the worker was also underpaid minimum wages, public holiday and overtime rates and annual leave entitlements, under the Restaurant Industry Award 2020 and the Fair Work Act’s National Employment Standards.
In response, the inspector issued a Compliance Notice to Monaco Willows in September 2023, which required it to calculate and back-pay these entitlements to the worker.
Monaco Willows, without a reasonable excuse, failed to comply with the Compliance Notice. Mr Placentino was involved in the contravention. The company has since been placed into administration and the café has been closed.
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said unlawful deductions from workers’ wages are unacceptable.
“Deductions are lawful only in a limited range of situations, and employers must understand those laws or they risk facing compliance action,” Ms Booth said.
Ms Booth said the workplace regulator would continue to take businesses to court where Compliance Notices are not complied with.
“Where employers do not comply, we will take appropriate action to protect employees. A court can order a business to pay penalties, and to take steps to comply with a Compliance Notice including calculating and back-paying entitlements,” she said.
“Employers should also be aware that taking action to protect migrant workers and improve compliance in the fast food, restaurants and cafés sector are priorities for the Fair Work Ombudsman. Any employees with concerns about their pay or entitlements should contact the Fair Work Ombudsman for free assistance.”
The Court accepted that while Tusk café is no longer operating, Mr Placentino is currently the director of three other companies and there was a real prospect that he is currently responsible for the engagement of employees or will assume that responsibility in the future.
Judge John O’Sullivan found there was a need to impose a penalty to deter Mr Placentino from future breaches and to signal that non-compliance with compliance notices will not be tolerated.
“The efficacy of these notices could be undermined if recipients think that a failure to comply has no meaningful consequences. There is also a need for general deterrence for all persons to not engage in conduct such as occurred in this case and to be motivated (by seeing the imposition of civil penalties) to know and conform with their obligations under industrial instruments,” Judge O’Sullivan said.
The Fair Work Ombudsman filed 146 litigations against employers involving visa holder workers, and secured nearly $23 million in penalties in cases that have included visa holder workers, in the seven financial years to June 2024.
Fair Work Ombudsman, 24th April 2025
