In these recessionary times the fear of a
future with no income amongst redundant workers is persuading some to part with
all their cash in return for future wealth and riches – only to find themselves
bankrupt and maybe homeless. This is no email scam from a ‘Nigerian Minister’
or even betting it all on the 2.30 at Redcar Races. This is a legal form of
ripping you off, with the rise of the some of the worst kind of leeches to prey
on the real victims of the economic downturn. This cost me and by wife £50,000 and hundreds
of other hard working people have lost tens of thousands of pounds to this form
of legalised extortion.
It is always a product of recessions that
greedy vultures in the form of franchisors are offering to remove all the
problems faced by redundant workers up and down the country. All the worker has
to do is put all the redundancy pay and also be persuaded to borrow more as
well, to buy a franchise and all their problems will disappear with the
promises of speedboats and fast cars.
In reality the opposite is the case, Franchising
is modern day slavery where you are in bondage for five or more years and to
get out any earlier will cost tens of thousands of pounds as the contract will
have breach of contract clause in the small print. The conditions franchisees
find themselves in, is worse than that of Victorian era. Do not expect to
adhere to the Working Time Directive. The franchisor’s development managers
will want to see that you have put in up to 77 hours a week pounding the
streets in whatever the weather throws at you. You are trying to sell a product
that franchisor has not marketed, so you have door after door slammed in your
face.
As for the minimum wage, that went out the
window as soon as you signed the contract. In fact, after taking into
consideration the cost of the franchise, you could find that the income is less
than £1 an hour, if nothing at all. Do
not expect the working conditions to be any more favourable. As it is your
‘business’ you are responsible for health and safety, but you cannot afford
safe handling equipment and have no sick pay to cover you. If you are injured, the
fact is that you will pay penalty payments for not reaching sales targets. You
may have to pay someone the franchisor has chooses to manage your business
whilst off sick. Holidays will be a
thing of the past.
These franchisors can lie through their
teeth about the number of franchisees, the average earnings and the number of
failures to hoodwink workers to be pay up but somehow this misrepresentation
isn’t illegal.
This modern day slavery is welcomed by this
business friendly Labour government. It allows a business to have all the
benefits of a cheap sales force without any of the responsibilities.
What is required is that trade unionists
working with the unemployed must warn redundant workers not to be taken in by
the lies spread by these vultures. In job centres no franchise information
should be displayed and any franchise ‘opportunity’ must be boycotted.
