Daniel Cotter​, 21, and his girlfriend Sharna Gore​, 24, both of Morriss Road, Warrnambool,​ pleaded guilty in the Warrnambool Magistrates Court to charges of ​trespass, ​burglary and theft.

Police said that in mid April Cotter was dismissed from his position as a chef at Proudfoots.

Ms Gore resigned on April 25 from her position at the same restaurant.

At 11.50pm on April 26 Cotter and Gore went from their west Warrnambool home to Proudfoots which is situated on the Hopkins River in the city’s east.

They parked down a narrow track and then entered the restaurant through an unlocked window.

Cotter took two money jars but became spooked when he saw car headlights and hid on the roof.

Gore went back to the car but left her shoes behind. 

They had activated a silent alarm and the restaurant owner attended, found Gore’s shoes, saw and recognised the car and called police who attended in minutes.

At 12.15am Gore was found in the car not wearing shoes. She said Cotter was looking for fish in the river but he was located on the roof and about $25 in coins were recovered. 

Under questioning from magistrate Cynthia Toose, both defendants said they went to the restaurant to seek revenge on the owner who they claimed had mistreated them.

Cotter originally said he went to the river to go fishing but the magistrate claimed that explanation was "rubbish" and implausible. 

Cotter said he wanted to get back at the restaurant owner for what he had done, which included firing him for no reason. 

They were assessed for community corrections orders, but they declined to do those orders as they wanted to move to South Australia, where they have family support and work opportunities.

The magistrate said the couple had engaged in "pretty ordinary behaviour" when they went back to steal from their former employer.

"Your actions do not reflect well on you. There are processes to go through and no one should act in the way you did," Ms Toose said.

The magistrate said all employees with grievances could seek redress through an established process and seeking to personally take revenge was a serious action.