Brisbane-based doughnut chain Doughnut Time has landed itself in hot water over a string of alleged underpayments.
The Courier Mail reports up to 35 staff members have taken the business to Fair Work for unpaid wages of more than $70,000.
Former Doughnut Time chef Kimmy Mi Kim told The Courier Mail she was owed more than $5000 in wages. She and several other employees reportedly left the business at the end of January following weeks without pay.
Owner Damian Griffiths is planning to sell the 15 Australian and UK stores to Doughnut Time CEO and managing director Dan Strachotta, who was originally hired ten months ago as a consultant for the company.
According to a statement issued by Doughnut Time, the unpaid wages are being worked through and will be rectified as part of the sale. Meanwhile, the company will continue its expansion into the UK and is looking to open stores in Dubai and Los Angeles.
The news follows a series of troubles for Griffiths whose company Bubbles Bar and Bistro went into liquidation earlier this year with reported debts of $1.32 million after he sold the Les Bubbles restaurant to Strachotta for just $52,383.
Griffiths lost control of two other venues Limes Hotel and Alfred & Constance late last year and also appeared in District Court and was ordered to pay back two relatives more than $550,000 after he defaulted on a loan from 2008.
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