Foodco has back-paid 166 employees of Muffin Break and Jamaica Blue a total of $26,562.30 under a two-year audit and compliance agreement with the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO).
In 2014, the FWO invited Foodco to sign a two-year Proactive Compliance Deed in 2017 which encompassed more than 4000 employees across the two brands. This followed Enforceable Undertakings the FWO entered into with two Muffin Break franchise operators, one in 2014 and the other with a former operator in 2016, after workers at these cafés were underpaid.
An independent third party was responsible for conducting audits that found 152 employees were underpaid a total of $4,244.75.
An additional 12 requests for assistance were made by Muffin Break and Jamaica Blue staff, which led to an additional 14 employees being back-paid $22,317.55.
In line with the Deed, Foodco has conducted workplace law training for staff and franchisees, launched an employment relations hotline for staff to raise concerns and improved access to information on workplace laws across the business.
“Our key objective of this partnership was to ensure that Foodco established processes to identify and resolve workplace disputes efficiently across its network and educate franchisees on their lawful obligations under the Fair Work Act,” said Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker.
Parker also said franchisors are a priority sector for the Fair Work Ombudsman. “Franchisors are responsible for ensuring compliance throughout their service network.”