Working for the Brand: The Regulation of Employment in Franchise Systems in Australia
Australian Business Law Review, Vol. 48, No. 3, 2020
24 Pages Posted: 1 Dec 2020
Date Written: November 30, 2020
Abstract
In the past five years or so, there has been a never-ending stream of investigations and inquiries into so-called ‘wage theft’ in franchise systems in Australia. This article seeks to go beyond these public accounts by considering key legislative provisions and recent case law which directly relates to the quality of franchise work and the regulatory behaviour of both franchisees and franchisors. In particular, the article considers three critical issues in this context: 1) the legal classification of franchisees under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (‘FW Act’), including their possible employment status; 2) the application of collective bargaining arrangements to franchise networks; and 3) the ascription of liability for contravention of the civil remedy provisions of the FW Act, including 2017 reforms expressly directed at franchise relationships. This analysis reveals that while the regulation of work and employment in franchise networks has attracted much attention, it remains uncertain in many key respects and continues to be in a state of great flux.
Keywords: wage theft, franchise systems, Australia
JEL Classification: K31
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation