Legal action has been launched against the owner of two 7-Eleven franchises who allegedly underpaid staff by $31,500 by denying them penalty rates.
The Fair Work ombudsman has launched the legal action on behalf of 21 employees of the two Brisbane stores – many of whom are international students – claiming they have been underpaid between $98 and $5080.
A franchisee, Jason Yuan, allegedly paid employees a flat rate of $17.74 an hour, even if they worked on Sundays, late nights and public holidays. He is liable for up to $10,200 for each breach.
The two stores were targeted in surprise, late-night visits by the ombudsman, who has warned Yuan in the past of his obligation to pay penalty rates.
He will appear before the federal circuit court in Brisbane on 11 February.
Yuan will become the sixth operator of the convenience store chain to appear before the court since 2009.
In August an investigation by Fairfax papers and the ABC found that 7-Eleven underpaid two-thirds of its workers, some receiving only $10 an hour. The minimum wage is $17.29 an hour.
A spokeswoman for the 7-Eleven said in a statement in August: “7-Eleven strongly supports the Fair Work ombudsman’s investigation into employees’ pay and conditions currently under way at a select number of franchisees’ stores.”
The Greens have called for a Senate inquiry into the exploitation of the convenience store workers.
