A 21-year-old hospitality worker has been left up to $15,000 out of pocket and trade creditors facing thousands of dollars in unpaid bills after the Schnitzel Haus restaurant in Wanniassa closed in February.
It was one of two such restaurants that closed its doors that month, the second of which - on Braddon's trendy Lonsdale Street - closed and later re-opened under the new trading name of The Tipsy Bull.
Max Kelly was one of several workers left out of pocket in unpaid entitlements, but was the only one to apply as an unsecured creditor with a claim of $15,000, of about $17,000 believed owed to former employees.
His case illuminates a wider, national trend of young workers, particularly in the hospitality industry, who have been highlighted as particularly vulnerable by the Fair Work Ombudsman and others.
He said he started at the Braddon store two days before it opened and a few weeks later moved to work full-time at the Erindale restaurant, where he worked for about a year and a half until he resigned in December to take a holiday for his 21st birthday.
Max said he did not notice anything amiss until about June last year, when his pay-slips started to look "a little unorganised".
His mother Lynnette Lloyd helped him collate his pay-slips last year, finding that it seemed he was not paid $15,000 believed owed in penalty rates and unpaid superannuation.
She spoke to the Fair Work Ombudsman's office, which advised her to write a formal letter of demand, which she sent to the owner on February 7 this year.
Documents filed with the corporate regulator show the business, The Schnitzel Haus Pty Ltd, was placed into voluntary administration on February 8.
The owner of the business, Joe Beltrame, and the liquidator, RSM's Frank Lo Pilato, declined to comment for this report.
A creditors' report showed the business owed the tax office about $105,000, trade creditors some $90,000 and $320,000 was also owed to "the brother of the director".
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Liquidators were able to raise about $14,000 from an auction of plant and equipment to help cover administration costs.
The report did not identify any specific breaches of the Corporations Act, but did form "a preliminary view" that the company may have being trading insolvent from "on or about" June 30 last year.
"However, my enquiries have revealed that the director does not have any assets with which to meet any claim against him, and accordingly it is not considered commercial to pursue any further," the report reads.
Max said he enjoyed working at the restaurant and there was a good team of staff, but he was disappointed he was not paid what he believed he had earned.
"I worked six days a week, often with unpaid overtime, and when I had leave, I never got any holiday loading bonuses," he said.
Other former employees and creditors told The Canberra Times that workers' penalties and superannuation often went unpaid and trade suppliers were left waiting weeks for overdue invoices to be paid.
Mrs Lloyd said she was concerned that he was not alone in the situation and other young staff in the industry should be wary.
"How do you know what to look for if you've only had one or two proper pay slips in your life?" she said.
"We think he wasn't paid super for most of that time and as I understand it, I sent a letter of demand that morning and that afternoon he told the staff not to come in the next day.
"I think it's unfair when young kids want to get out and have a go in the workforce and they're treated like this - and I understand even though that restaurant is in liquidation, he's been able to continue with the Tipsy Bull."