The former husband-and-wife managers of BIG4 The Bend Holiday Park will soon find out how much compensation they will get after being incorrectly paid throughout their employment.
A tribunal ruled on 24 December 2024 that Leanne and Michael Staska were dismissed from their roles in July 2022 “without cause” and were paid incorrectly by the company headed by Dr Sam Shahin. The tribunal is expected to hold another hearing this week to determine how much the pair are owed.
After they were let go, the Staskas spent time researching the Fair Work Act 2009, the relevant Hospitality Award, about what their legal options to fight for what they believed they were owed in entitlements and underpayments over their two year tenure.
In the search, they came across the SAET (South Australian Employment Tribunal), an organisation providing a forum for aggrieved employees to resolve workplace related disputes and issues.
Leanne Staska has spoken to ARN’s Adam and Jennie about the case this morning, saying if it was not for the SAET, she and her husband would not have been able to take on the case.
“I just wanted to share with the region that there is help is available for mums and dads like us who don’t feel like they’ve got the money to pay a barrister and team of lawyers because we certainly didn’t and yeah we haven’t looked back,” Leanne Staska told ARN’s Adam and Jennie this morning.
“I want to encourage and reach out to everybody in the community if they feel that they’ve been aggrieved, the SAET website is there; it is daunting but it’s doable.”
Following the ruling on Christmas Eve, Dr Sam Shahin told Adelaide Now that The Bend maintains it “strictly adheres to all employment regulations”.
“Success sometimes unfortunately attracts envy,” he told Adelaide Now
“I cannot comment on the specifics of the matter whilst it is still in process. We reserve our rights.”
In response to his words, Leanne Staska told ARN that she was proud to have confronted her former employer.
“Sometimes success unfortunately attracts greed and entitlement, but I’m proud of us for pursing this,” she said.