Dexta Daps 7 Eleven Official HD Video
The chairman and chief executive of 7-Eleven convenience stores in Australia resigned on September 30 last year, following allegations that franchises systematically underpaid workers. Picture: William West
MASSIVE fines being handed out to rogue 7-Eleven operators mean rival small retail businesses will no longer be at a competitive disadvantage, says the National Retail Association.
Yesterday, a Brisbane 7-Eleven store owner and his company copped record fines of more than $400,000 after being found by the Federal Circuit Court to have systematically exploited workers.
The penalty is the latest in a number of actions against 7-Eleven franchisees following a Fair Work Ombudsman investigation last year.
The Federal Circuit Court on Monday fined West End store owner Sheng-Chieh Lo $68,058 and his company Mai Pty Ltd $340,290 after he was found to have short-changed 12 staff more than $82,000.
Judge Michael Jarrett found Lo had shown contemptuous disregard for Australian workplace laws and had sought to deceive the Fair Work Ombudsman.
The penalties against Lo and his company are the highest ever achieved by the ombudsman, eclipsing a ruling in Perth in 2013 by almost $65,000.
Lo underpaid 12 employees, including several international students, a total of $82,661 between September 2013 and September 2014.
The court ordered Mai Pty Ltd rectify more than $35,000 in underpayments that remain outstanding.
Mr Jarrett said Lo and his company had systematically exploited his employees by paying flat rates as low as $13 an hour and trying to cover up the low wages through a sophisticated system of data manipulation and false record keeping.
Mr Los contempt is demonstrated by his persistent attempts to deceive the Fair Work inspectors investigating the relevant complaints, Mr Jarrett said.
And his insistence, undertaken in a secretive way, that any amounts he paid to the relevant employees to make good ... (his companys) defaults should be immediately paid back to him. Los store was one of 20 7-Eleven outlets targeted by Fair Work inspectors in surprise late-night visits in September 2014.
Ombudsman Natalie James said the record penalty should serve as a warning to employers.
We will continue to be persistent with our compliance activities, even when confronted by employers who deliberately seek to mislead us with false records and where vulnerable employees are involved, Ms James said.
Even if they themselves are too afraid to talk to us.
NRA acting chief executive Ian Winterburn said not only would migrant and youth workers benefit but so would small retail businesses, which may have had trouble competing with a nearby 7-Eleven business.
Certainly people have been exploited and the business following the regulations properly are now no longer disadvantaged, Mr Winterburn told AAP.
It (systemic exploitation of workers) doesnt create a level playing field and has given an unfair advantage to those (unscrupulous) people.
Weve done quite a bit of work with our franchise members and weve been engaged in a lot of audits to make sure they are compliant.
Mr Winterburn said the NRA had been conducting wages seminars to educate its members for the past six months and expressing the need to be diligent in following workplace regulations.
He said any discrepancies they had discovered were only minor.
But Mr Winterburn did admit the fines also highlighted the complexity of the workplace relations system.
Theres no doubt that this is a highly complex area of regulation, and we know from experience that many small business owners struggle to understand their obligations and comply with the volumes of workplace law, he said.
(Its) why many of them simply opt to close their doors or only use family members behind the counter at times when penalty rates may apply.
Source: http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/7eleven-cops-record-400000-in-fines/news-story/7ea2b72abe80c90e1fc4f927e5b27f0a
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