Yet Another Melbourne Cafe Has Been Exposed For Underpaying Its Workers

We regret to report that yep, yet another trendy Melbourne cafe has been accused of underpaying and exploiting its young workers. This time it’s popular cafe Hairy Little Sista, and union representatives are calling it “one of the worst cases of wage theft we have seen”.

Staff at the cafe allege they’re owed thousands of dollars in wages and superannuation, and that they have sometimes had to wait months to receive money owed to them. In some cases, workers alleged being paid as little as $17 dollars an hour, cash in hand. The minimum hourly award wage for hospitality workers is $18.29, and that rises significantly on weekends.

Harry Connor, a former employee at Hairy Little Sista, alleges the business owes him around $3000 across the three months he worked there. That’s worked, past tense, because he says that when he asked the business to pay up last week, his shifts were cut.

“My rent was due last week — and I came so close to being evicted, because I had not been paid,” Connor said. “I had to beg to be paid, then when I did, Hairy Little Sista cut my shifts and I was out of a job.”

“At this cafe, there’s a revolving door of workers paid as little as $17 an hour cash-in-hand.”

Another employee, Jack (not his real name), said he hadn’t been paid for more than four months. “I got some of it,” he said. “No super. I was not on the payroll — I got $24 per hour cash in hand.”

“The backpackers wouldn’t get paid for months and months. Some people never got paid at all,” Jack said. He described cafe management as “very manipulative”.

“I was upset. I felt betrayed.” he said.

Hospitality union Hospo Voice plans to file an underpayment claim in court later this week on behalf of Harry Connor. Jess Walsh, secretary of Hospo Voice’s parent union United Voice, described the situation at Hairy Little Sista as “one of the worst cases of wage theft we have seen”.

“Here we have another landmark hospitality venue sprung for wage theft,” she said. “This industry is rotten to the core.”

“Criminalising wage theft is a game changer. But hospo workers will not wait for it to be legislated, they are fighting back right now. Hundreds have joined Hospo Voice and they are naming, shaming and organising protests to hold these wage the wage thieves to account.”

Junkee has reached out to Hairy Little Sista owner Kristine Becker for comment. Becker told the ABC this morning that she acknowledges mistakes have been made in the past, but she wants to do the right thing and “get this sorted”.