7-Eleven: More workers speak out about 'cash back' scams

teasatotalling on 14/12/2016 - 09:30
Last edited 14/12/2016 - 09:30

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-14/7-eleven-workers-speak…

More 7-Eleven workers have spoken out about the so-called "cash back" scam, in which employees are forced to hand back part of their pay to franchisees of the convenience chain.

Key points:

Workers say they are being forced to pay back part of their wage to franchisees
They say they were threatened with loss of jobs if pay was not handed back
7-Eleven says it does not have enough evidence to prove any allegations of wage fraud

Last month the ABC broadcast covert video of a 7-Eleven employee handing money to her boss in the office of a Brisbane store. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-21/covert-video-captures-…

The worker said she was told by the franchisee to pay back thousands of dollars or face losing her job.

Now another former worker has backed up the claims, saying he was forced to pay back thousands of dollars in wages during his time at the same store.

"Everyone [at the store] has to pay back. It's really unfair because I'm paying their tax… and I can barely get through the week with all my bills and food supplies," he said.

'I started stealing money so I could just get by'

The worker said he was sacked after he started taking $20 to $30 a week out of the till to make ends meet.

"At the time, a big bill came in and I had no money left… I couldn't afford food. So I started stealing money so I could just get by," he said.

Workers said the franchisee told them he could not afford to pay the government award rate.

General Discussion

Related Stores

7-Eleven
7-Eleven

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 14/12/2016 - 09:38

    I wouldn't really call it stealing given the employer is stealing from them too. Simply taking back what is yours.

    • dasher86 on 14/12/2016 - 09:43
      +2

      two wrongs don't make a right.
      but three lefts do.

  • punkindrublic on 14/12/2016 - 09:43
    +3

    I don't think anyone would be shocked by the fact that this is still going on - I'll bet there are many franchisees out there (and not just 7-Eleven) that happily breach IR laws to cut their labour costs. Given how few people there are enforcing the laws I'd bet that even if you eventually got caught and fined, you'd still have saved more money by shortchanging your staff and paying out a fine than by complying with the law in the first place.

    What I find most appalling though is that 7-Eleven headquarters clearly knew what was going on (or at best, knew that this was likely to happen) and chose to turn a blind eye to their franchisee's behaviour. Fair Work's inquiry report makes this so very clear:

    In February 2012, [Fair Work] invited a range of franchisors to participate in a pilot program aimed at assisting franchisors and franchisees to address compliance in their businesses. On 15 February 2012, 7-Eleven registered interest in participating in the program, citing the following reasons:
    * many 7-Eleven franchisees are first-time business owners
    * many franchisees are new or recent migrants to Australia who may be unfamiliar with the intricacies of the Australian industrial relations system
    * as a franchisor, 7-Eleven is ‘committed to ensuring that [its] franchisees receive clear guidance on their obligations as employers’.

    In March 2013, 7-Eleven was formally invited to participate in the free program. However, after several attempts to obtain 7-Eleven’s commitment, a HR representative advised in May 2013 that it wasn’t in a position to participate in the program at that time.

    More likely, they knew exactly how much dodgy behaviour was going on and decided that they wanted to continue using the bullsh*t excuse that "we didn't know, it's only a few bad apples, we're serious about paying our workers proper (i.e. legal) wages, we'll commission our own 'inquiry' into the behaviour of a minority (and then sack the wage panel when they realised how much money they'd have to pay out)".

    EDIT

    Workers said the franchisee told them he could not afford to pay the government award rate.

    Well then do the shifts yourself - it's your business so any cashflow problems are yours alone. It's not your employees' fault you were too stupid to do your own due diligence before buying a franchise, or actually believed the crap that the franchisor told you about their organisation.

  • Diji1 on 14/12/2016 - 10:04
    +1

    So it's just terrible that 7/11 does this but it's cool if Uber does it.

    • dasher86 on 14/12/2016 - 10:19

      Uber drivers are classed as subcontractors not employees.

  • tomsco on 14/12/2016 - 11:20
    -1

    Pointless having the video in the article, it proves nothing in the presented state.

  • MITM on 14/12/2016 - 12:46

    7-11 should put their prices up if they can't afford to pay government set rates.
    Oh, wait - 7-11 Red Bull $5.50 while $4 at Coles Express - Just Sayin'

  • tonka on 15/12/2016 - 18:37

    I don't think this has anything to do with wages. More about extorting people for a path to immigration. If people will pay thousands to get on a leaky boat and be here illegal, how much will they pay for the job they need to convert from student to resident.

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