A Grill'd burger store at the centre of a bitter workplace feud will be forced to increase wages after an employee applied to terminate a WorkChoices-era pay deal.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Fair Work Commission has ruled that a low-paying staff agreement at the Grill'd Camberwell franchise will be scrapped within 60 days and replaced with award entitlements unless a new deal is struck sooner.
It comes after employee Kahlani Pyrah spoke out against the Grill'd store's agreement, which was struck in 2007 under the unpopular WorkChoices legislation.
Staff covered by the Camberwell deal are paid hourly wages between $9.50 and $17.50, but miss out on penalty rates and overtime, meaning they are often paid less than the award, the basic wages safety net.
Lawyers for Grill'd Camberwell told the commission it had agreed to start renegotiating pay and conditions and hoped to reach a new deal before the September 29 deadline.
Hospitality union United Voice said the ruling was an "enormous win" for Ms Pyrah and her Grill'd co-workers.
"These orders mean that Grill'd's dodgy old WorkChoices contract that ripped away penalty rates and paid below the award is gone," state secretary Jess Walsh said.
"Grill'd Camberwell is going to have negotiate with their staff on a new agreement that meets or exceeds the award. If they don't, they'll be back on the award."
Ms Pyrah, 20, shot to national attention after alleging she was sacked from Grill'd Camberwell due to her fight for fairer pay and conditions.
She had circulated a petition and launched the proceedings to terminate the 2007 agreement, but was fired 10 days later on bullying allegations.
Her unfair dismissal case will be heard before the Federal Circuit Court next month.
Ms Pyrah's legal action sparked a national backlash against Grill'd and led to revelations the company was suppressing the wages of hundreds more young staff across the country through the use of outdated employment agreements and compulsory traineeships for new hires.
The controversial flat-rate wages in the Camberwell deal are similar to those in the company's 2005 agreement, which spans about 60 company-run stores.
Grill'd managing director Simon Crowe pledged that, although all workplace agreements were legally valid, the company would "modernise" the 2005 agreement and flagged pay rises for employees.
No such commitment has been made for Grill'd workers at other franchise stores. Grill'd franchises that have opened since 2008 are required to include higher wage rates in their workplace agreements, and some include overtime pay.
But enrolment in retail training programs - which Grill'd contracts stipulate as "compulsory and a condition of ongoing employment" - allows operators to continue paying their young workforces below full wages.
Grill'd has strongly defended the training program, describing it as "the fabric of who we are and what we're about".
"We believe in young people, and are proud to give them a pathway that extends right through to owning a stake in their own business," Mr Crowe said.
Ms Walsh said the Fair Work Commission's ruling should be a stern warning to Grill'd nationally and any other hospitality employer that "thinks they can get away with ripping off and intimidating staff".
n.toscano@fairfaxmedia.com.au
