Mint My Desk, MillionLife staff accuse bosses of underpayment, company says they're 'urgently' considering claims   
ABC News
Mon 4 Sep 2023

Workers at stores MillionLife and Mint My Desk have accused the company of underpaying staff, not paying superannuation and not providing pay slips.

Key points:
Staff at Mint My Desk and Million Life held stop work action in Brisbane on the weekend
Employees say multiple attempts had been made to rectify pay, contract and pay slip issues
Mint My Desk said in a statement they were considering the issues being raised
In a statement published to social media and the Mint My Desk (MMD) website, the company said it was taking its legal obligations to its employees seriously, and would look to rectify and issues.

Staff from stores around Brisbane walked off the job on Saturday morning, demanding to be paid under the general retail award, back pay and pay slips to be provided.

Mint My Desk, a stationery company, has 18 stores nationally, while MillionLife, an arcade style company, has 31 stores with plans to expand to 300 stores in the next three years.

Spokesperson for the Mint My Desk Workers United, Louisa McCarthy, who works for Mint My Desk at Uptown (formerly Myer Centre) said most staff were paid cash in hand.   

"Of note most people don't get pay slips, the minimum wage is not met, penalty rates aren't paid, super isn't paid," she said.

Ms McCarthy said there had been multiple attempts from staff members to bring up these issues to the company bosses which she said were usually dismissed or staff were told they will be fixed in coming months.


Text messages raising these issues have been seen by the ABC. The issues have also been raised with the Fair Work Ombudsman.




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She said the company owners would use excuses such as being a "new business" or "too understaffed" to address the issues.

Some staff say they are paid as low as $18 an hour — the minimum retail award wage is $24.73 for a full time or part time employed adult. However Ms McCarthy said most staff are employed on a casual basis, entitling them to a 25 per cent loading according to the General Retail Industry Award.

She said the final straw for her was seeing one of the company owners purchase a luxury vehicle while saying she could not afford to pay minimum wage.   

Garden City MillionLife employee Holly Booth, who also runs the MillionLife TikTok page, told the ABC she was not aware she was being underpaid until weeks before the stop action was organised.


She said, like herself, a number of the staff at the stores were young girls and university students working their first jobs who may not be aware of their employee rights.

She said despite the pay issues, quitting was not an option.

"It's a situation where we're living in a cost of living crisis where it's becoming harder and harder to get a job and so," they said.

"I know I've stayed as well because I genuinely love company and I want to work in like the film industry, so being able to make the TikToks has been good for that."

A video shared on their personal account accumulated more than 230,000 views — since then Ms Booth says former and current staff at both brands have reached out stating similar issues.

Mint My Desk shared the following statement to Instagram and their website before removing it from social media a couple of hours later.

"It is in that context that MMD notes that one or more of its employees have raised concerns about alleged employment practices," the statement said.

"MMD appreciates that concerns have been raised, and they continue to be urgently considered.

"MMD notes however that any concerns raised by these employees should be done in a respectful and courteous manner.

"MMD is committed to trying to work through any live issues collaboratively with the employees, and trust that the employees will do the same when communicating with MMD or about MMD publicly.

"If there have been any mistakes made, then they will be urgently rectified. MMD has approached and will continue to discuss the issue with its employees and seek to resolve them."


Mint My Desk has also offered a number of employees contracts — which have been seen by the ABC — the afternoon after they held industrial action.

Both Ms Booth and Ms McCarthy said they don't agree with the contracts and said it does not meet their demands.

Mint My Desk and MillionLife have been contacted for further comment.

Mint My Desk staff walk off job for second time over alleged underpayment

September 10 2023
ABC News

Owners of retail stores MillionLife and Mint My Desk have temporarily closed two outlets following industrial action that has seen staff walk off the job for the second time in seven days.

Key points:
The company says it is investigating workers' concerns
The company temporarily closed two Brisbane stores this week
A staff spokeswoman says there seems to be "major confusion from the management about the appropriate rate"
Mint My Desk, a stationery retail chain, has 18 stores nationally, while MillionLife, an arcade-style retail chain, has 31 stores with plans to expand to 300 stores in the next three years.

Staff of two Brisbane stores have accused MillionLife and Mint My Desk of underpaying staff, not paying superannuation and not providing pay slips.

A spokesperson for the company told the ABC the company had been "wholeheartedly" engaged in reviews and investigations of concerns raised by the employees.

She confirmed the company had closed the Uptown (previously Myer Centre) and Chermside stores from Tuesday to Thursday. 

"It's a feasible decision," she said. 

"Due to recent industrial actions and publicity, these stores' sales have tanked. The company was experiencing financial losses by keeping them open."

She added part of the reason the company closed the stores was so they could "dedicate ourselves into resolving our employees' concern".

Spokesperson for Mint My Desk staff Louisa McCarthy said two employees had been threatened with being stood down following a second stop work action in Brisbane on Wednesday.   

The company confirmed there had been a meeting regarding the employees' conduct and a decision was yet to be made on their employment.

A group of girls holding protest signs.
Mint My Desk staff say there still appears to be confusion with pay entitlement.
Ms McCarthy said more than 30 current and former workers from the Sydney and Melbourne Mint My Desk stores had come forward with evidence of grievances they have also raised in the past with the company — including issues involving pay slips, pay, and penalty rates.

"The thing we are still discussing is the minimum wage we should be getting," Ms McCarthy said.

"There seems to be major confusion … about the appropriate rate for us."

In an email to staff, provided to the ABC, the company said it was carrying out an urgent review of pay records and was committed to paying back any money owed.

"Award coverage and application can be notoriously difficult," the company said. 

"Certainly, if mistakes have been made, they are unintentional, and we are committed to ensuring that going forward all pays are made correctly."

Ms McCarthy said she believed the issues Mint My Desk staff raised were not an anomaly.

"We stand in solidarity with every single worker who is also facing a similar situation," she said.

"Our fight is their fight for what is right.”

'Far too many' employers underpaying   
Employers found seriously breaching their obligations of the industry award can face major penalties.

Breaches have been found at businesses of all sizes, including large companies such as 7-11 and Woolworths.

Maurice Blackburn employment lawyer Patrick Turner, speaking in general terms, said employers in the private sector must comply with the National Employment standards in addition to any terms set out in their industry award.

He said award terms cover payment of superannuation, providing pay slips within one working day of pay and paying a minimum amount of what is set out in the award.

He said employers who failed to meet the standards set out faced penalties of up to $18,780 per contravention for an individual and $93,900 per contravention for a company.

.
Employment lawyer Patrick Turner says there are serious penalties for underpaying employers.
He added that if a systematic failure was found, those penalties increased tenfold. 

Mr Turner said there were "far too many employees in retail industries underpaying" in Australia.    

"That's why it's been really good to see the federal government taking action on underpayments and closing to criminalise wage theft in the latest round of changes to Fair Work," Mr Turner said.

He said any employer who discovered they had been underpaying staff should immediately rectify it, regardless of the possible penalty.

For workers who suspect they are being underpaid, he suggests joining the relevant union, getting in touch with Fair Work and considering speaking to a lawyer.

Mr Turner said it was disappointing there were still employers not complying with workplace laws.

"It just reflects the need to treat wage theft just as seriously as we currently treat theft by employees, and there needs to be criminal penalties for people who deliberately underpay their staff," he said. 

When I ran my businesses I always received the award rates sheet for clerical and retail employees and paid workers those rates.

So underpayment is not done accidentally.

Well, my businesses were clerical—data entry—and retail.

Other businesses could have more difficulty I guess with a range of awards.