Two Victorian fast-food businesses have been hit with hundreds of charges for allegedly failing to comply with child labour laws, as the state's watchdog cracks down on hospitality and retail franchises.
Wage Inspectorate Victoria has charged Red Rooster Wodonga and Cold Rock Shepparton with breaching the Child Employment Act in what commissioner Robert Hortle told 7.30 were "really serious allegations" with "extremely serious consequences".
Red Rooster's Wodonga franchise is facing 355 criminal charges of employing 10 children under the age of 15 without a permit on 168 occasions, failing to ensure the children are supervised by someone with a Working with Children Clearance, employing children for more hours than they are permitted to work, and employing them later than 9pm.
Lucy Cooper, 16, worked at the store from 2021 until early this year and told 7.30 she enjoyed working a variety of shifts at the takeaway chicken restaurant.
"Some days it felt very late like with school and all that because I'd be getting home about 10:20pm and then having to get ready and then waking up late," she said.
She is not part of the legal action and was surprised when 7.30 informed her of the charges the Wodonga franchise is facing.
She believes many young people are not aware of child employment laws.
"I reckon not many people do know the law. They just want a job to earn money so they can go do their own thing and buy their own stuff," she told 7.30.
Over in Shepparton, the town's Cold Rock ice cream store is facing 124 criminal charges from the wage inspectorate relating to the employment of six children, alleging the franchise breached the Child Employment Act by employing children for more hours than they were permitted to work, employing children later than 9pm and for failing to provide a rest break of at least 30 minutes after every three hours worked.
7.30 contacted the individual owners of both franchises who declined to comment. Red Rooster Wodonga will appear before the Melbourne Magistrates Court in May, and Cold Rock Shepparton will face court in June.
In a statement, a spokesman for Red Rooster's head office told 7.30: "We are very disappointed to learn of these charges.
"The matter is still before the court. However, the [alleged] details of this matter represent a serious breach of our policies, and in accordance with the Franchising Code of Conduct, may lead to the termination of the franchisee's contract."
Cold Rock's head office declined to comment when contacted by 7.30.
Mr Hortle said: "For the employer, they can face fines of up to $20,000 per breach of the law. And we're alleging into the hundreds of breaches for these businesses. So there's a big liability here for the employer, potentially, and there is certainly a risk to children if the laws aren't complied with."
'Very challenging' to detect breaches of child law
Victoria's child employment laws mean businesses who hire children aged under 15 must obtain a permit, and children must be supervised by someone with a Working With Children Clearance. The laws also restrict when a child can work (during school only three hours a day, six hours during holidays and only between the hours of 6am and 9pm), and require children to receive a 30-minute break after every three hours of work.
Child employment law expert Gabrielle Golding said Victoria's laws were some of the strongest in the country and called for a national streamlining of child labour laws.
"In South Australia and in Tasmania, the regulation is quite light. So the prohibitions around children performing work occur only during school hours, and work can be done by them at other times," she said.
"In other jurisdictions, it is the case, for example, in Victoria, that you need to actually seek a permit to be able to employ a child … So for someone to look at the position around the country, it not being harmonised, is quite confusing."
Dr Golding also said alleged breaches of child labour laws were not always easy for authorities to spot.
"To try and detect that particularly in regional areas might be very, very challenging … in a sense that children may find themselves not equipped with the skills to ask questions of their employer to raise issues about their working conditions," she said.
Mr Hortle said big franchises had no excuse not to follow the law.
"I tend to think that if an employer can guarantee the quality of a burger or the ingredients in a muffin, whether it's bought in Busselton or Brunswick, that they can put systems in place to comply with child employment laws," he said.
"I don't think the community differentiates whether or not it's a franchisee or franchisor. I think what they expect is that these brands get it right and that children are employed safely in the workplace."
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