7878 Business Franchise Australia and New Zealand Business Franchise Australia and New Zealand
the retail industry in Australia
accounts for a whopping
4.1 per cent gdp, andmore than 10.7 per cent of
Australia’s workforce, making
it one of the most significantcontributors to the Australian
economy.It’s one of the highest employers of young
people – more than a quarter of employed
people aged between 15 and 24 work across
the almost 140,000 retail businesses in this
c ou nt r y.
Among these are tens of thousands of
franchisees, the majority of whom are already
overburdened by red tape and compliance
issues, however, there’s a very real danger
that’s about to worsen.As we all know, there’ve been a string of
scandals in the franchise industry – 7-Eleven,
Caltex, Domino’s Pizza and Pizza Hut
have deservedly been outed for the serious
underpayment of staff.
The 7-Eleven saga has probably gained
the most attention after the Fair Work
Commission handed it record penalties - more
than $400,000 in one instance - for deliberate
underpayments which are now in the 100s of
millions of dollars.
The exploitation of workers is a serious issue
and must be addressed with swift and hefty
penalties. These cases were extreme and
shocking examples of how the system can go
wrong, however, none of them is an accurate
reflection of this long-standing, successful
model.the ‘protecting vulnerable
workers’ Bill
On 1 March this year, the Fair Work(Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Bill 2017
(Bill) was introduced in Federal Parliament
to amend the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW
Act) in an effort to make franchisors more
responsible for the actions of franchisees,
especially in relation to underpayment of
employees.
As the Director of Legal Services at the
National Retail Association (NR A), an
industry association representing thousands
of these retailers of all sizes, we have
expressed serious concerns about the Bill
which we believe unfairly penalises everyone
in the franchise industry for the sins of an
unscrupulous few.what is it?
The Bill is effectively seeking to hold
franchisors and holding companies as
guarantors over the employment and payroll
practices of separate legal entities and, in the
case of franchisees, unrelated third parties.Why the vULNErABLE
WorKErS BILL Will add eveN
MorE rED TApE
To THE FrANCHISE INDUSTry
expert Advice