'Villain Era': Wollongong salon owner owes staff $100k in unpaid super

In September 2023, Mia De Vries liquidated her business The Fox and the Hair, a hair salon, after what she says was a difficult period beginning with the 2021 COVID lockdowns.

"I was chasing my tail for some time," Ms De Vries said.

She says staff shortages, as employees were taking annual leave, on maternity leave or sick with COVID, meant she was feeling increased pressure, and that trade at her salon had dropped dramatically.

"I couldn't cope ... it was getting really hard and I was stressed," she said.

"I just burst into tears."

The Mercury spoke to several former employees of the salon who say they raised the issue of unpaid super with Ms De Vries multiple times.

Jodie Buxton worked at the salon from 2016 until it was liquidated.

"In retrospect, she had a lot of staff just go after a period of time and she didn't hire anyone else, which I thought was really strange," she said.

Ms Buxton believes she is owed roughly $30,000 in super and says she threatened to quit multiple times.

"I actually quit and said 'Look, I need my super'," she said.

"She sort of promised and said she's going to pay and I guess we all wanted to believe that she would.

"She just said 'Please don't leave you're an amazing hairdresser, you're part of the family, I promised you I'm going to pay it'."

The Fox and the Hair has remained open since the liquidation and now operates under a different ABN which was set up for Ms De Vries' other business The Secret Fox, which provides an educational membership for hair and beauty professionals.

The official business name for the new ABN is The Fox and Hair Villain Era.

Ms De Vries says the name came from a social media trend urging people to embrace their "villain era" - which is about people living life for themselves, setting boundaries and being independent instead of people-pleasing.

"It was just me copying that TikTok trend," she said.

But it has left a bad taste in the mouths of former employees like Madison Neal.

"It's very tacky of her to name it that, like, after all of us worked there for seven to 10 years and been loyal throughout all her crying of 'I'm going to pay you'," Ms Neal said.

"It's pretty outrageous ... she owes so many people money."

Currently, The Fox and the Hair has no employees outside Ms De Vries and instead rents the chairs at the salon out to independent hairdressers.

The recently renovated salon was leased through The Secret Fox meaning it was not included in the liquidation process.

In liquidation documents seen by the Mercury, the realisable value of the assets in the company was $800.

Creditors, not including employees, claimed they were owed $387,000, with the largest creditor being the tax office (which claimed $250,000).

Other major creditors included iCare and L'Oreal.

Amanda Ackerman began working for Ms De Vries in November 2013 as an apprentice.

She was on maternity leave and due to start long service leave when the company was liquidated.

"[Ms De Vries] called me just out of the blue and was like 'oh, I'm closing the salon'," Ms Ackerman said.

"She did promise that she was still going to pay out my long service leave before the salon closed."

The week Ms Ackerman's government maternity leave ended and the long service leave was supposed to begin, the company was liquidated.

"I was left a bit high and dry," Ms Ackerman said.

"We had no income for the next six months, which was a bit of a kick in the face after working for her for that long."

Ms Ackerman says she was told by the liquidators they would be able to claim their money through the fair entitlements guarantee (FEG). FEG doesn't deal with superannuation.

Ms Ackerman says she was left disappointed over the whole affair.

"Because we've been through a lot of personal stuff in the last 12 years, like personal growth, babies, relationships, I thought of her more as a friend," she said.

"It's really disappointing to see her still trading and renovating the salon. It's upsetting."

Ms De Vries is adamant she will pay the unpaid super if it takes her "100 years".

"I'm not hiding or pretending, I've lost my friends and no one's checked on me," she said.

"I was trying to draw a line in the sand and not let the hole I was in get any bigger. Now I'm just trying to recover mentally, emotionally and financially so I can move forward and slowly repay my debts."

The Federal Government is introducing payday super from July 1, 2026, which they say will make it easier to keep track of superannuation and get the money into workers' accounts earlier.

Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones says the ATO will be provided with "additional resources to crack down on employers who don't pay their super on time".

"It's heartbreaking to hear of local workers not being paid their superannuation contributions," he said.

"My message is this - if you're doing the wrong thing and not paying your workers' super, you will be caught.

"The Government takes this very seriously and I encourage anyone who suspects they haven't been paid their super contributions to contact the ATO."

Workers in the Whitlam electorate alone miss out on $28 million annually in super payments.