Melbourne venues Le Bon Ton and Longhorn Saloon accused of underpaying workers   


25 Feb 2019
ABC News

The social media posts of brothers Will and Mick Balleau show them living the high life, lounging on a private jet and posing with guns and guitars.
Key points:

    The claims relate to Le Bon Ton in Collingwood and Longhorn Saloon in Carlton, which has since closed
    The hospitality union claims four former workers are owed thousands of dollars in unpaid wages and superannuation
    Will Balleau told one former Longhorn Saloon worker he couldn't help her because the venue had gone into administration   


But the pair — who channelled their New Mexico upbringing into a series of inner Melbourne venues — are the latest stars of the city's hospitality scene to be caught up in allegations of underpaying staff.   

A complaint to the Fair Work Ombudsman lodged by hospitality union Hospo Voice on behalf of four former employees of Balleau-operated venues alleges they were paid below the award rate, and did not receive penalty rates, even on shifts ending at 5:00am.
'I was working too hard to check'

Skyler Simmons said he worked all-night shifts as a bartender at Le Bon Ton in Collingwood, for a flat rate of $18.50 per hour.   

"I remember being there at 5 in the morning on the weekends. My payslips showed I worked 70 or 80 hours some weeks," he said.

"I had a nagging thought in the back of my mind — 'I wonder if I'm getting paid correctly?' — but I was working too hard to check."


The complaint to the ombudsman claims thousands of dollars in unpaid wages and superannuation for three former employees of Le Bon Ton, and one at Longhorn Saloon in Carlton.

Jess Perry said she was on a flat rate of $18.50 an hour at Longhorn Saloon.

However unlike Mr Simmons, she did complain about her pay rate to her managers, and was given a new contract — but still below the award, and with no penalty rates.

Shortly after leaving Longhorn Saloon, Ms Perry contacted her former employer, saying she had not been paid correctly.

She got an email back confirming she was owed more than $4,100, and a promise to pay her back.

But months later, she said the money had still not been deposited into her account.

When Longhorn Saloon closed in April, Ms Perry emailed Will Balleau directly asking for her money, but was told the venue was going into receivership.


Ms Perry was furious because the Balleaus' other venue, Le Bon Ton, was still open for business.

Jess Perry said she felt "pretty ripped off".

'I want them to be held accountable'

Ms Perry asked for the administrator's details, but did not receive them. Two years on, she has still not been paid.   

"They promised me the money and then they closed their venue," she said.

"I was heartbroken. It's not fair. At all. I want them to be held accountable."


Staff at Le Bon Ton and Longhorn Saloon were paid by separate companies.

One company, Barkles and Bergley, does not list either Will or Mick Balleau as a director or shareholder.

The other, Slow And Low Smokehouse, lists Michael Balleau as its director.


The Hospo Voice complaint to the ombudsman claims both Le Bon Ton and Longhorn Saloon were controlled by Mick and Will Balleau at the time of the alleged underpayments.

The ABC contacted Will Balleau, who agreed to respond to written questions.

However he has not replied to a follow-up email sent last week.


'I do really sense a change here'

Hospo Voice has been behind a long-running campaign to highlight underpayment in Melbourne's hospitality industry.

Last year, Premier Daniel Andrews promised to introduce tough new laws that could see employers jailed for deliberately underpaying workers.

Those laws have not yet been introduced. But Jess Walsh, secretary of United Voice, said things were already different in Melbourne's hospitality industry.


"I do really sense a change there," she said.

"For a long time young workers in particular have been scared to speak out.