A franchise pizza giant is under fire, with staff and delivery drivers confirming a Domino’s class action suit is underway.
The Domino’s class action, which was filed in Federal Court on Monday, is being brought by specialist law firm Phi Finney McDonald and is being funded by Therium Litigation Finance.
According to the claim, over the period from at least June 24, 2013 to January 2018, Domino’s told franchisees to pay delivery drivers and in-store workers under a series of incorrect employment agreements, even though they should have been paid under the Fast Food Industry Award 2010.
The agreements did not include certain entitlements – such as 25 per cent loading for casual workers; additional penalty rates for working after-hours, on weekends and on public holidays; and a laundry allowance to assist with uniform cleaning – and most in-store workers and delivery drivers were underpaid as a result.
“It’s nothing short of a disgrace,” said Josh Cullinan, secretary of the Retail Fast Food Workers’ Union (RAFFWU), which spearheaded an investigation that uncovered the misconduct detailed in the Domino’s class action.
“The scale of the Domino’s misconduct is unprecedented, and we believe that tens of thousands of workers were never paid for casual loading, penalty rates, travel costs and laundry allowances,” Cullinan said in a statement released on Tuesday.
The Domino’s class action alleges that workers are owed the difference between what they received and the amount they should have been paid.
“Delivery drivers and fast-food workers are some of the most vulnerable in Australia,” Cullinan said.
“Domino’s CEO Don Meij took home a multi-million dollar pay packet every year, while drivers and store employees never saw a lot of the money they earned. Some workers are owed tens of thousands of dollars.”
Former Domino’s delivery driver Riley Gall is leading the action on behalf of all other affected employees. Having worked for Domino’s franchisees for two years, he said “it’s only fair” the pizza giant pay workers what they are owed.
Domino’s issued a statement to the ASX on Tuesday morning, saying it had not been served with any claim or received any prior contact about the underpayment issue, but is of the view that the industrial agreements applied to its franchisees at all relevant times.
It said it takes proper payment of its team members seriously and that any formal proceedings will be reviewed and actioned in the ordinary course.
Phi Finney McDonald is urging every person who worked at a Domino’s franchise during the nearly five-year period to register with the Domino’s class action.
The news comes just days after law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth announced a possible class action suit against RFG branded cafe Michel’s Patisserie.
This story first appeared on Inside Retail, a sibling publication to Inside Franchise Business.