Sensations Cafe owner fined after refusing to insure staff and pay for injury claim

The owner of a now-defunct cafe has been fined after he refused to pay for staff insurance and an at-work injury claim.

Jeremy Arnold Fissioli, 33, did not appear in Busselton Magistrates Court on Tuesday when he was fined for failing to provide for the employees of his business — the now permanently closed Sensations Cafe.

Fissioli was convicted on March 19 of one count of penalty uninsured worker, meaning he failed to comply with the Workers’ Compensation and Injury Management Act by not providing insurance for his 17 staff.

He was also convicted on the same day of contravening a requirement made by an inspector.

This was brought to light after a staff member was injured on the job in 2022 and Fissioli ignored all requests with regards to the insurance claims his employee was entitled to.

These requests included various calls, emails, notices and letters which, according to the prosecution, were all “acknowledged, but not responded to”.

During October 2023 the cafe underwent inspection and a variety of requirements were noted by the inspector, none of which were ever fulfilled.

Sensations Cafe opened in 2013 and was highlighted for its popular gluten-free options, but it has been closed since late September.

Magistrate Stephen Butcher said the offending was a “particularly bad example” of how to treat employees.

“This is precisely the reason these type of penalties were introduced,” he said.

“There was an intentional decision to choose not to get any insurance. It’s extremely serious because in this case someone got hurt.”

Fissioli was given a global fine of $10,000 plus court costs of $171.70. He was also ordered to pay compensation to the injured employee of $1022,53.