The 7-Eleven empire is owned by Russell Withers and his sister Beverley Barlow. The pair brought the franchise licence to Australia almost 40 years ago.
They are two of Australia's richest people and their franchise network has been caught underpaying some of the nation's poorest and most vulnerable people. Mr Withers has for many years sat on the Australian Olympic Committee.
Explosive internal documents obtained by Four Corners and Fairfax Media show the results of a review of 225 stores through July and August by 7-Eleven's head office.
It found that a staggering 69 per cent of stores had payroll compliance issues, including falsification of records and rosters.The documents show stores are manipulating their rosters.
This is known because when rosters are cross-checked against CCTV footage, the surveillance footage reveals that people not on the roster are actually working at the store. Instead those manning the tills are often students on visas getting illegal cash payments well below legal minimums.
A Fairfax Media-Four Corners investigation has uncovered much more. There are staff log books, court documents, financial accounts of individual stores – including one owned by 7-Eleven head office – and it all paints a grim picture of what it is like to work for one of the most well-known brands in Australia with 620 outlets.
Damning review
In the wake of inquiries from Fairfax Media and Four Corners, store reviews ramped up. The findings are damning.
"I ask why they're not paying correct rates for this trading period. The reply was to save money," one review on a store in outer eastern Melbourne reads. While yet another review on an inner city suburb in Melbourne declares: "Clear evidence payroll is being falsified."
On and on it goes.
Under the current immigration law student visas allow students to work only 40 hours a fortnight. If they breach the law they face the risk of deportation, which makes them targets for exploitation.
Unscrupulous employers allow students to work more hours but threaten to report them to authorities for breaching their visa if they complain about working conditions. Employers time sheets and rosters are doctored to maintain the scam.
To pull off the fraud, the franchisee or a family member, nicknamed the "ghost worker", pretends to work up to 80 hours a week to disguise the fact that the student worker is really doing the hours.
Read more:
They are two of Australia's richest people and their franchise network has been caught underpaying some of the nation's poorest and most vulnerable people. Mr Withers has for many years sat on the Australian Olympic Committee.
Explosive internal documents obtained by Four Corners and Fairfax Media show the results of a review of 225 stores through July and August by 7-Eleven's head office.
It found that a staggering 69 per cent of stores had payroll compliance issues, including falsification of records and rosters.The documents show stores are manipulating their rosters.
This is known because when rosters are cross-checked against CCTV footage, the surveillance footage reveals that people not on the roster are actually working at the store. Instead those manning the tills are often students on visas getting illegal cash payments well below legal minimums.
A Fairfax Media-Four Corners investigation has uncovered much more. There are staff log books, court documents, financial accounts of individual stores – including one owned by 7-Eleven head office – and it all paints a grim picture of what it is like to work for one of the most well-known brands in Australia with 620 outlets.
Damning review
In the wake of inquiries from Fairfax Media and Four Corners, store reviews ramped up. The findings are damning.
"I ask why they're not paying correct rates for this trading period. The reply was to save money," one review on a store in outer eastern Melbourne reads. While yet another review on an inner city suburb in Melbourne declares: "Clear evidence payroll is being falsified."
On and on it goes.
Under the current immigration law student visas allow students to work only 40 hours a fortnight. If they breach the law they face the risk of deportation, which makes them targets for exploitation.
Unscrupulous employers allow students to work more hours but threaten to report them to authorities for breaching their visa if they complain about working conditions. Employers time sheets and rosters are doctored to maintain the scam.
To pull off the fraud, the franchisee or a family member, nicknamed the "ghost worker", pretends to work up to 80 hours a week to disguise the fact that the student worker is really doing the hours.
Read more:
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