The owners of one of Sydney's most famous cafes have been accused of short-changing a 457-visa cook by nearly $40,000 through underpayments and a cash-back scheme.
Tibor Vertes, the owner-operator of Bar Coluzzi, in inner-city Darlinghurst, and his company Robit Nominees, allegedly underpaid the woman before making her hand back almost $14,000 in wages between 2014 and 2015, the Fair Work Ombudsman says.
Mr Vertes told the Italian cook that his company Robit Nominees could not afford to pay her entire salary, and needed cash back payments to cover tax and superannuation contributions, the ombudsman said in a statement on Wednesday.
It also alleged that the woman was made to withdraw and hand back more than $200 after being paid each week.
The ombudsman has launched legal action against Vertes and his company, with both to appear in the Federal Circuit Court in Sydney for a directions hearing at a date to be set.
Vertes faces penalties of up to $10,800 and Robit Nominees up to $54,000 per contravention.
Bar Coluzzi on Victoria Street became an inner-city institution after being founded by former professional boxer Luigi Coluzzi in 1970.
It was sold in the late 1990s and Mr Coluzzi died in 2014.
