The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has secured penalties of $15.3 million against the former operators of Sushi Bay outlets in New South Wales, Darwin and Canberra. This relates to the exploitation of vulnerable migrant workers, which included underpaying their staff by more than $650,000. The penalties were against the companies that owned the businesses, but $1.6 million was also imposed against the sole director of those companies. Whilst these businesses were not franchised businesses, it i...

Recent investigations by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) have shed light on concerning practices within Melbourne’s food sectors.  In a targeted effort, the FWO conducted surprise inspections across 32 food businesses, which revealed that 81% or 26 out of the 32 businesses had breached various workplace regulations. These breaches primarily included underpayment of minimum wages, failure to pay penalty rates correctly and inadequate record-keeping practices.  Fair Work Ombudsm...

The ACCC has today sent out information for franchisors relating to end of financial year documents they are required to prepare or update. These include: Marketing Fund Statement. Prepare the annual marketing fund financial statements and, unless the franchisees vote otherwise, an auditor’s report for that marketing fund statement. (Note: 75% or more of franchisees must vote that the statement does not need to be audited in order to avoid the latter requirement.) Disclosu...