Former employees of the Monkey Bean café, a well-known establishment in Melbourne’s Toorak, are still awaiting compensation amounting to tens of thousands of dollars, despite winning a court case against the owner six months ago. Celeste Freeman, who began working at the café in 2018 after moving from Western Australia, expressed her initial gratitude for the job, but discovered she was underpaid during her more than three years of casual employment at a rate of $20 per hour. She was not compensated according to the award rates, missing out on casual loading, weekend penalty rates, and overtime pay.
The situation came to light when Freeman learned, through a colleague, that her superannuation payments were not being made, despite her payslips indicating otherwise. Freeman and her coworker, Connor Davidson, who had worked at the café for two years while studying, sought help from the Young Workers Centre after deciding to quit their jobs. The Centre calculated that Freeman was owed approximately $31,500, while Davidson was owed around $8,000.
When the owner, Jason Thomas O’Loughlin, refused to engage in negotiations, the Young Workers Centre pursued legal action, resulting in a judgement in December 2024 and January 2025 that awarded the owed wages to Freeman and Davidson. In July, the court levied a $50,000 penalty on O’Loughlin’s company and an additional $10,000 against him personally. However, as of now, the café continues to operate without having settled the outstanding $100,000 in penalties and wages.
Paloma Cole, director of the Young Workers Centre, noted that such scenarios of underpayment are common, particularly among young workers in hospitality, where a study indicated that nearly a third earn about $10 an hour under the minimum wage.
Freeman hopes her experience serves as a cautionary tale for other hospitality workers. She encourages employees to be vigilant about their pay and to regularly check their superannuation balances. Davidson echoed this sentiment, highlighting the importance of being proactive in addressing potential pay discrepancies.