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...

In a significant legal development, the Federal Court of Australia has ruled against PayPal Australia Pty Limited (PayPal), declaring a specific contract term used in its agreements with small businesses to be unfair.  The contentious term in question allowed PayPal to retain fees charged erroneously if small businesses failed to notify PayPal of the error within 60 days of the fee appearing on their account statement. This provision shifted the burden onto small businesses to promptly ...