In a further development in the 7-Eleven saga, another franchise has been penalised by the Federal Court for underpaying its workers. The case is the fifth 7-Eleven investigation to be decided in court, with three pending.
In what seems a trend in this investigation, the Court chose to lift the corporate veil and fine the owners of franchise. The owners, husband-and-wife Haiyao Xu and Yiran Gu, were each fined $20,000 for the violations. The Federal Circuit Court also penalised their company Hiyi Pty Ltd a further $110,000.
The couple previously ran a business in Parkville, in suburban Melbourne, where the Fair Work Ombudsman found that twelve employees were underpaid a total of $84,047. This sum has since been repaid.
Hiyi also operates a store in the Melbourne CBD. Employees there were short-changed a total of $106,189. Almost all are overseas workers, including international students.
The Ombudsman has entered into an Enforceable Undertaking (EU) with the company in relation to underpayments at their City store. The Ombudsman, Natalie James, says an EU was implemented for the contraventions at the City store given the company’s cooperation. The company agreed to back-pay employees and overhaul its workplace practices.
The Ombudsman’s media release can be found here.