7-Eleven is a franchise that is internationally recognized and is part of a global chain of more than 56 000 stores in approximately 16 countries (Sydney Morning Herald). The store first originated in the United States and later moved around the world. However, in recent months, the company has been penalized for exploiting a large amount of workers in Australia. Workers at 7-Eleven stores have been underpaid and as a result, the company has been handed a record penalty of more than $400 000 (A. Patty, The Sydney Morning Herald 2016). Many news articles have been written to discuss the impact of the situation and the action that has been applied to the current situation.
The major stakeholders that are affected by this issue have to
…show more content…
It has been stated that this is largest scam in Australia’s history (The Sydney Morning Herald). In order to aid the situation and overcome the issue, it would be beneficial to have businesses reviewed as well as tracking the hours and wages of employees. Employers and franchise owners need to be more clear and transparent with workers and employees to ensure that the work place does not breach the law in regards to wages and contracts. As a result of not fixing the issue, it could lead to the closure of the business particularly in Australia, as employers may find it hard to find workers for their business. People may not want to work for the company if all employees are found to be getting underpaid and overworked. Employees should be repaid for all the wages that they have lost throughout the duration that they were being underpaid. Franchise owners should also be reviewed and their company should be penalized if the issue continually occurs. Franchise owners should also let employees know when they receive a pay rise as well as keeping the wage at a reasonable rate. Some articles have stated that in order to overcome the issue, electronic timekeeping and arrangements to terminate 7-Eleven franchisees would allow franchisers and store owners to stop breaching the system and to no longer overlook the underpayment of staff. The government should also keep records to navigate which business owners are still breaching the law and have stores taken away. This may then lead to the depletion of the whole company within Australia. The Fel’s wage fairness panel also investigated the 7-Eleven issue and made reports to the senate employment committee on temporary