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Birdies Mini Golf and Sports Bar worker speaks out over $300 pay deduction for being on the phone at work

A young pub worker docked $300 for using his mobile phone while on the clock has sought advice on how he can recover the cash.

The casual employee at Birdies Mini Golf and Sports Bar in Melbourne’s Forest Hill took to social media to share a pay slip revealing the “deductions” for allegedly spending more than five hours on his phone during a shift.

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Security cameras show the 21-year-old university student racking up some screen time on his phone, but he argues that only happened during periods when the business was empty.

“I don’t think I was on my phone for the entirety of five hours. That’s more than half my entire shift,” he told 7NEWS.

The worker was sent repeated messages by the bar owner to stop using his phone, with the boss pleading “please don’t be on phone – you need to be working” and “I don’t want to be an ogre but you can” don’t just stand there”.

A hospitality worker has claimed $300 was deducted from their pay for using a mobile phone at work. Credit: Reddit

The staffer, who has since resigned, claims his job was solely about looking after customers.

“They would like me to clean the windows, clean the golf courses and clean the whole venue and honestly that’s not what I signed up for,” he said.

Birdies owner Stephanie Doyle said the worker was aware of the business’ phone use policy and had agreed to it.

Birdies Mini Golf and Sports Bar owner Stephanie Doyle says the staff member was given several warnings his pay would be cut if he did not stop using his phone. Credit: Supplied to 7NEWS.com.au

She told 7NEWS.com.au the worker had been warned his phone usage was “excessive” and had been called several times throughout his shift to get off his phone.

“I don’t have a problem with someone checking their messages as a 20-second thing and then it goes back in their pocket, but there’s a big difference between that scenario and what happened here,” she said.

“He started at 12pm and by 12.25pm ​​he was on his phone and wasn’t doing any of the tasks for the day.”

Doyle claimed the venue was left in such a poor state after his shift she had to fly down from Sydney to tend to it.

Is it legal?

The worker has sought advice from the FairWork Commission about recouping the lost earnings, with unions saying the employer’s actions are potentially illegal because deductions need written consent.

Without consent “it’s unlawful and in fact, it’s probably wage theft”, according to United Workers Union’s deputy director Imogen Beynon.

“If your boss is asking you to check your phone for their instructions on one hand and on the other, they’re going to ping you for it, that’s not right,” Beynon said.

JobsWatch executive director Zana Bytheway said such cases are a “conduct and performance issue” and cannot be dealt with by deducting wages.

Deductions aren’t entirely uncommon but are most often used for uniform or union costs.

Birdies said its employee policy, which staff read and sign on their first shift, states deductions from wages are possible for unreasonable phone use.

The worker sparked plenty of debate after he shared his situation on Reddit, with many encouraging him to chase the lost money.

“Don’t let it go. If you got time have a chat with the Fair Work Commission,” one person responded.

– with reporting by Blake Johnson

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