FRANCHISES (RETAIL TRADE) – AUSTRALIA

Caltex franchisee fined over false pay records

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Original article by Anna Patty
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 24 : 28-Jun-18

The Federal Circuit Court has ordered former Caltex petrol station franchise operator Aulion to pay fines totalling $A80,190 for falsifying its employees’ wage records. The franchise’s owner Peter Dagher in turn has been fined $A16,038. The service station at Five Docks in Sydney is one of 15 that were investigated by the Fair Work Ombudsman over concerns about wage exploitation. The penalties for non-compliance have been significantly increased since 2016, when the breaches in question occurred.

CORPORATES
CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, AULION PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Fair Work slams Caltex franchise model

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Original article by Adele Ferguson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 5-Mar-18

Service station operator Caltex Australia advised in the week ending 2 March that it will abandon the franchise model for its outlets. Its announcement preceded a rather damning report into its franchise model by the Fair Work Ombudsman, with an audit finding that 76 per cent of franchised Caltex stores it examined were exploiting their staff. Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James says that in light of its report, she is not surprised by Caltex’s decision to exit franchising.

CORPORATES
CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, 7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, RETAIL FOOD GROUP LIMITED – ASX RFG, PIZZA HUT AUSTRALIA, UNITED PETROLEUM PTY LTD

Epidemic of underpayment

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 1-Dec-17

Michael Smith, the chairman of 7-Eleven, says it has been taking active steps to eliminate underpayment of employees within its franchise network. They include biometric clocking- in and centralising its payroll system, and he believes it has done as much as it can to prevent further occurrences of underpayment within 7-Eleven. However, he says it would be wrong that the problem has not gone away within the Australian franchise sector as a whole, and that recent changes to the Franchise Code aimed at protecting workers from being underpaid are not sufficiently robust.

CORPORATES
7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, DOMINO’S PIZZA GROUP PLC, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, PIZZA HUT AUSTRALIA

Steep fine for 7-Eleven boss over pay rort

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Original article by Sarah Danckert
The Age – Page: 11 : 25-Jul-17

A former Brisbane-based 7-Eleven franchisee has been fined $A168,000 by the Federal Court, following an investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman into wage underpayment. Jim Chien-Ching Chang was found to have underpaid eight employees by almost $A20,000, with one employee found to have been underpaid by almost $A14,000. The court heard that Chang had admitted to paying staff as little as $A13 an hour at all times of the day.

CORPORATES
7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, JS TOP PTY LTD

Ten new probes into Domino’s

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Original article by Mario Christodoulou
The Age – Page: 20 : 1-Jun-17

Domino’s Pizza Enterprises has advised that the scale of its internal investigation into wage fraud means a report on the probe will be released up to six months behind schedule. Meanwhile, the Fair Work Ombudsman has indicated that it is now carrying out 26 separate investigations into the underpayment of Domino’s employees. Domino’s CEO Don Meij said earlier in 2017 that about 2,400 employees had been underpaid over a period of three years.

CORPORATES
DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIA. SENATE EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT LEGISLATION COMMITEE

Coffee Club franchisee accused of 457 visa rorts

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 4-May-17

The Fair Work Ombudsman is prosecuting a cafe franchisee for exploiting a foreign employee who was recruited on a 457 visa. Saandeep Chokhani, a Brisbane-based Coffee Club franchisee, has been accused of underpaying the 457 visa holder. It has also been alleged that Chokhani told the employee that his visa would be cancelled if he did not repay some $A18,000 of his wages. A cafe was fined more than $A530,000 earlier in 2017 for exploiting 457 visa holders via a cashback arrangement.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, THE COFFEE CLUB PTY LTD, FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Takeaways from 7-Eleven wage fraud inquiry must stop the rot

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Original article by Adele Ferguson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 40 : 25-Jan-16

The wage exploitation scandal has embroiled a number of franchise-based companies, including 7-Eleven, United Petroleum, Subway, Pizza Hut and Baker’s Delight. With a Senate inquiry due to release its recommendations in February 2016, the Australian Government should action to address the issue prior to the federal election. A range of reforms are needed, including changes to industrial relations laws, ensuring that financial penalties for wage fraud are sufficient to deter the practice, and increasing the powers of the Fair Work Ombudsman.

CORPORATES
7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, UNITED PETROLEUM PTY LTD, SUBWAY SANDWICHES PTY LTD, PIZZA HUT AUSTRALIA, BAKER’S DELIGHT HOLDINGS LIMITED, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, NANDO’S AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, EAGLE BOYS DIAL A PIZZA AUST PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, MAI PTY LTD, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA

7-Eleven affair a signal to franchisors

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Original article by Adele Ferguson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 40 : 7-Dec-15

A revised franchise agreement that has been proposed by 7-Eleven Australia indemnifies head office for any future liability for underpaid staff. However, the convenience store chain has agreed to pay the first $A25m of any claims for unpaid wages that are received by the independent wage review panel that was set up in response to the wage exploitation scandal. Franchisees will be required to pay the next $A5m worth of claims, but head office will equally share any liability for claims beyond this sum. This has significant implications for other franchisees, amid claims that the wage scandal is not limited to 7-Eleven.

CORPORATES
7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, BAKER’S DELIGHT HOLDINGS LIMITED, UNITED PETROLEUM PTY LTD, SUBWAY SANDWICHES PTY LTD, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, PIZZA HUT AUSTRALIA, EAGLE BOYS PIZZA, NANDO’S AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, 7-ELEVEN FRANCHISE ASSOCIATION, LEVITT ROBINSON

‘Sham contracts’ undercut Pizza Hut drivers’ agreed pay

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Original article by Adele Ferguson, Sarah Danckert
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 23-Nov-15

The employment contracts of Pizza Hut Australia are under scrutiny amid allegations of wage exploitation. It has been claimed that some home delivery drivers are paid just $A6 per delivery, and are restricted to making only two deliveries on each round trip. A number of Pizza Hut franchisees have launched a class action for alleged breaches of the franchise code. Other franchise-based businesses have also accused of wage exploitation, including 7-Eleven.

CORPORATES
PIZZA HUT AUSTRALIA, 7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP

7-Eleven pumps $200m from petrol

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Original article by Adele Ferguson, Sarah Danckert
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 21 : 20-Oct-15

The wage exploitation scandal has prompted 7-Eleven Stores to propose increasing the fuel commission paid to franchisees. Owners of outlet that sell petrol are currently paid $A0.01 for every litre they sell. Head office has proposed lifting this to $A0.015 per litre, although some franchisees are pushing for $A0.03 per litre. Internal documents show that head office’s gross income from fuel sales was $A197.5m in 2014-15, while franchisees were paid $A18.3m in fuel commissions.

CORPORATES
7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD