An Australian bar owner is receiving death threats after docking the pay of an employee due to them being on their phone during their shift.
In a viral post on social media, the Melbourne University student complained he had lost $298.65 in wages from a public holiday shift at Birdies Mini Golf and Sports Bar in Melbourne’s Forest Hill.
A note on his payslip, which was shared online, reveals the pay had been “deducted for over five hours on mobile phone during shift (unauthorised)”.
The worker has since resigned. He admitted to using his phone but only when there were no customers present.
“I work in hospitality and I have been deducted five hours of pay for ‘mobile phone use’,” the bartender claimed on Reddit.
“I single-handedly worked at the place from open to close.
“I did use my phone when there are no customers. Is this legal?
Birdees has responded, saying the worker receive multiple warnings for his “excessive personal mobile phone use” before the action was taken.
“I warned him, ‘If you keep doing this, I’m not going to pay you for the hours you’re on the phone and doing personal things,’” a representative told News Corp.
“He said, ‘Yes, OK,’ but it continued.”
“He worked close to nine hours and I paid him for four, which were the hours he was not on his phone,” the representative said.
“There’s a big difference between a quick text here or there and sitting down to watch a movie.”
Do you think the worker deserved to have his pay deducted?
