On Wednesday the Government proposed amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009designed to protect vulnerable workers in the workplace.
Under the proposed changes, a franchisor can be held responsible if a franchisee underpays workers. This responsibility will only apply when franchisor knew or should have known about the underpayments, and didn’t take steps to prevent them. It also only applies to franchisors that have a significant degree of control over their networks.
The changes also:
- prohibit employers from unreasonably demanding payments from workers
- increase penalties for serious contraventions of workplace laws, as well as record keeping failures
- give the Fair Work Ombudsman stronger evidence-gathering powers.
There are no proposed changes to the Franchising Code of Conduct.
The new proposed laws (if enacted) will be enforced by the Fair Work Ombudsman. We will continue to keep you informed of these developments as more information is made available.
You can find more information about the amendments on the Australian Parliament House website.
Subscribe to our free mailing list and always be the first to receive the latest news and updates.