FWO investigates 15 Sharetea stores
22 April 2022
Note: This media release originally stated that inspectors visited both franchisee and franchisor owned stores. Inspectors determined during site visits that no franchisor-owned stores were visited.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has carried out surprise inspections of 15 Sharetea bubble tea stores in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and the ACT to check compliance with Australia’s workplace laws.
Fair Work Inspectors visited the takeaway beverages franchise stores in response to anonymous reports and enquiries from employees, or other compliance history, raising concerns of breaches of the Fair Work Act. Allegations being investigated include underpayments due to low flat rates of pay.
Inspectors were on the ground at franchisee-owned stores yesterday, reviewing employment records and payslips and speaking with Sharetea employees, managers and employers.
Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said protecting vulnerable workers and improving compliance among franchises and the fast food, restaurant and cafe sector were ongoing priorities.
“Our inspectors are gathering information about Sharetea’s operations to determine if there are any workplace laws breaches and to hold those responsible to account,” Ms Parker said.
“Intelligence and compliance history indicates a significant proportion of Sharetea’s Australian workforce are Mandarin-speaking visa holders. We know visa holders can be vulnerable due to lack of knowledge of their workplace rights or feeling unable to speak up to raise issues with their employer.”
“All workers in Australia have the same rights, and we encourage any with concerns about wages and entitlements to contact us – you can do so in your language, anonymously and without visa fears.”
The FWO has an agreement with the Department of Home Affairs, called the Assurance Protocol, where visa holders with work rights can seek our help without fear of their visa being cancelled. Information is available at our webpage for visa holder workers.
The Sharetea franchise, founded in Taiwan, commenced operations in Australia in 2012 and now has about 70 stores across the eastern seaboard.
The hospitality industry continues to provide more disputes to the FWO than any other, and accounted for 36 per cent of all anonymous reports received by the FWO in 2020-21. In the same year, the fast food, restaurant and café sector within the industry made up 36 per cent of the FWO’s litigations filed.
Targeted advice and resources for franchisors and franchisees, including online learning courses and in-language videos, are available for free at www.fairwork.gov.au/franchises. Resources for the fast food, restaurant and café sector are at www.fairwork.gov.au/frac.
Call the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 or a free interpreter service on 13 14 50. Know a workplace not doing the right thing but don’t want to get involved? Report it anonymously – in your language.
