Deep down, Cal Stanley knew he was being ripped off.
But like many young workers, he felt too powerless and alone to do anything about it.
More BusinessDay Videos
- Video duration
- 01:48
The great student swindle
The great student swindle
What started as a vent on social media has exposed an endemic pattern of young workers being exploited.
Up Next
The Federal Reserve to hike this week
- Video duration
- 02:51
- Video duration
- 02:51
The Federal Reserve to hike this week
The Federal Reserve to hike this week
A hike from the Federal Reserve is all but assured, but the market is keen to understand the pace of hikes going forward.
Up Next
Barnaby tops a bad week for politics
- Video duration
- 02:11
- Video duration
- 02:11
Barnaby tops a bad week for politics
Barnaby tops a bad week for politics
Political interference and politicians' pet projects too often result in mega-projects that don't pay. Michael Pascoe comments.
Up Next
Adani mine project moves forward
- Video duration
- 01:51
- Video duration
- 01:51
Adani mine project moves forward
Adani mine project moves forward
Jobs, regional investement, and the battle against climate change... all will benefit, say Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Adani CEO Jeyakumar Janakaraj at an announcement in Townsville. Vision courtesy ABC News 24
Up Next
Rates on hold for Christmas
- Video duration
- 01:40
- Video duration
- 01:40
Rates on hold for Christmas
Rates on hold for Christmas
The Reserve Bank has left rates on hold until at least February. Peter Martin explains why.
Up Next
Real estate agents playing vendors for mugs
- Video duration
- 01:50
- Video duration
- 01:50
Real estate agents playing vendors for ...
Real estate agents playing vendors for mugs
You know that apartment oversupply that has been promised everywhere except for Sydney? It's happened. Michael Pascoe comments.
Up Next
RBA staying cool as the heat rises
- Video duration
- 01:59
- Video duration
- 01:59
RBA staying cool as the heat rises
RBA staying cool as the heat rises
The final Reserve Bank board meeting of the year takes place at a magical time in Sydney, where the city gives itself over to sundry before Christmas. Michael Pascoe comments.
The great student swindle
What started as a vent on social media has exposed an endemic pattern of young workers being exploited.
The 21-year-old spent almost a year working as a casual kitchenhand at a pub in Footscray, putting in between 20 and 50 hours on any given week.
He was paid a flat $16.87 an hour – the part-time wage – but with no sick pay or holidays, and without penalty rates.
"I always knew I wasn't getting what I should have," says Cal.
"But it's not like a corporate situation where you can speak to HR. They'll scare you off from ever causing a fuss. It can be quite intimidating."
The catalyst for change was when a large hospitality group bought the pub in early 2016Â and Cal approached the new managers to clarify his conditions.
Unsatisfied with their response, Cal did his own research and discovered just how much he was being underpaid: $5 an hour, plus hundreds of dollars in penalties for overtime and weekend work.
He enlisted the hospitality union United Voice, which used Cal's timesheets to calculate how much he had been underpaid over 11 months and fired a missive to the pub's owners demanding reimbursement.
To their surprise, the company responded promptly, admitting fault and agreeing in May to pay Cal his outstanding wage bill. All $10,294 of it.
It was a happy outcome for Cal, who now splits his working week between a new kitchen and an office job.
But he says the kind of wage abuse he suffered is endemic in hospitality and a ubiquitous experience for people his age.
"If you're a younger worker and you're just getting your first job, you don't want to stir anything up. You don't want to rock the boat," he says.
"A lot of times people will be in these situations where they feel like they can't do anything about it.
"They need to realise you can contact your union, you can go to Fair Work and get the ombudsman to look into it; there's so much support and people don't realise it's out there."