CHRIS THOMSON

A 19-year-old duty manager sat down, wrongfully accused of dining with customers, and forced to resign will receive a payout from an award-winning Hog’s Breath Cafe.

In a written decision today, Fair Work Australia Commissioner Bruce Williams ordered Hog’s Breath’s Mindarie outlet to pay sacked manager Rebecca Johnston the equivalent of four week’s salary.

On March 1 last year, restaurant managing director Miles Wood and manager Sheona Richards met with Ms Johnston who had toiled at the diner for 18 months.

During the meeting, Ms Johnston was accused of dining with customers, eating while on duty and re-rostering staff without permission.

Before her superiors, Ms Johnston admitted she had taken a bite of garlic bread from food a colleague had ordered but that this occurred in the cool room out of sight of customers.

She told Mr Wood that everybody ate on shift, even Ms Richards.

Mr Wood told Ms Johnston her explanations were unacceptable and presented her with two written disciplinary notices.

He then said he could no longer trust her as duty manager and presented an ultimatum – take a demotion to waitress on less pay and with fewer hours, or resign.

Ms Johnston fell on her sword and was handed a letter of resignation Mr Wood had prepared earlier – which she signed.

At the hearing, the restaurant conceded Ms Johnston was forced to resign and for the purposes of the relevant law had been sacked.

Commissioner Williams noted Ms Johnston was not warned about unsatisfactory performance before she was fired.

He concluded the sacking was unreasonable and found Ms Johnston had been unfairly dismissed.

Ms Johnston earned no money for eight weeks after being fired, but Commissioner Williams noted some of her actions were “wrong”. So her compensation was reduced to one month’s pay.

On the garlic bread front, Commissioner Williams heard Ms Johnston’s offence was at the lowest end of the scale. He accepted no customer had seen her eating and she had ingested very little.

“I think in all the circumstances the respondent has exaggerated the seriousness of [Ms Johnston's] actions in this regard,” he found.

He noted Ms Johnston was wrong to make roster changes requested by staff without authority to do so, but balanced this against her young age and supervision experience amounting to just 16 days.

On the dining with customers allegation, Ms Johnston successfully argued she had told Mr wood it was a birthday party for another staff member and he had told her she could sit at their table when most customers had gone.

In 2011, the eatery was awarded “best family restaurant in Perth” by the WA Restaurant and Catering Association.