Hamburger giant Grill’d has reportedly received an eye-watering $16.6 million from taxpayers after signing up thousands of its workers to a government apprenticeship incentives program.
The burger food chain can pocket up to $28,000 per trainee through the wage subsidy scheme while also paying that worker less than someone not on the traineeship.
Data released from the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations showed that Grill’d Pty Ltd has the largest amount of apprentices under the scheme, more than any other business in Australia and over double the number of the organisation that comes after them.
Of the businesses that applied for the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements (BAC) Wage Subsidy program, Grill’d has 2728 apprentices and trainees, as at the end of April.
The business that came second on the list, plumbing and bathroom supplier Reece Group, had signed up just 1083 apprentices, less than half of Grill’d’s number.
In 2020, the federal government announced the $1.2 billion wage subsidy program to increase the number of Australians taking up apprenticeships or vocational training. The government promised to pay half the worker’s wage back to the business for newly-employed apprentices or trainees to encourage more jobs.
Grill’d has received $16.6 million so far through the scheme, The Australian Financial Review reported.
It comes after Grill’d was embroiled in a wage scandal in 2019 where the burger restaurant legally paid workers below minimum wage for its ‘Hamburger University’ traineeship program while receiving $7 million in taxpayer funds.
For a business to be eligible for the BAC program, apprentices and trainees must have started working there between October 5 2020 and the last day of last month.
Businesses part of the program are entitled to a maximum of $7000 a quarter — or $28,000 a year — per eligible apprentice, for wages paid in the 12-month period from the date they start.
Grill’d employs more than 4000 people nationally, so at least 2728 of those people have been newly hired in the last 18 months to meet the criteria for the subsidy scheme.
On average, Grill’d has made about $6000 off each employee.
According to the Grill’d Enterprise Agreement, last updated in 2020, the company pays less to staff training for a Certificate II or Certificate III in Hospitality.
“Trainees are entitled to the same terms and conditions of employment under this Agreement as Employees who are not Trainees. They will, however, receive a different rate of pay,” the document states.
For instance, an 18-year-old Grill’d employee fresh out of high school receives $17.20 an hour. In comparison, a new school leaver on the traineeship only gets $14.95.
The gap widens the older they get – workers over the age of 21 receive a $24.50 hourly rate while their trainee counterpart makes just $20.40 per hour.
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Two former employees on the Grill’d traineeship program claim they were told they would complete their hospitality certificate quickly and would receive a $400 bonus as a reward as well as being put on higher pay.
However, the whole process ended up taking years, during which time they were paid the traineeship rates.
Both ex-workers were uni students who were not looking to pursue a career in hospitality but claim they were only given the option to sign on as trainees if they wanted employment.
Kinsey McGregor became a waitress at a Grill’d restaurant in Sydney after completing high school. She claims it took her nearly three years to get the hospitality certificate — which is the length of most university bachelor degrees.
“I was there [at Grill’d] roughly three years … it took me about two-and-a-half years to finish the training program,” she told news.com.au.
“That was really only because they paid us to come in for a few hours and complete it with a third party trainer.”
Ms McGregor, now 22, eventually left the role in April last year as she felt she wasn’t making enough money.
“I eventually quit because, getting older, I wasn’t being paid enough for how much I was doing,” she said, adding that some people were “earning way less than what’s needed to make a living”.
She is now working at another job with a higher hourly rate.
When she learned that $16 million in taxpayer money had been shelled out to her past employer, Ms McGregor said, “That is not what I pay tax for, oh my God.”
Jessica Odewahn, who quit her job at Grill’d at the beginning of last year, said she was told she would finish the traineeship within six months or a year at most. However, this ended up taking considerably longer.
“Originally I was told [the traineeship] would be no more than six months to a year,” the now 21-year-old said.
“About 18 months into my employment I finally got off my traineeship having had two training sessions totalling eight hours max.”
In a statement to news.com.au, a Grill’d spokesperson said, “Traineeships and apprenticeships provide qualifications and employment pathways for thousands of young people across Australia in a number of industries.
“Our traineeship program is accredited and administered by external Registered Training Organisations, approved by each State and Territory training authorities, delivering nationally recognised qualifications and enabling trainees to have successful careers in Grill’d and beyond.
“All trainees who complete the Grill’d Training Program are supported throughout their employment to complete their qualifications. Ninety per cent of all our trainees have completed their traineeships within 18 months of commencement, where the nominal duration as defined by state and territory legislation is up to four years.
“Grill’d pays all our employees in line with the current Grill’d Enterprise Agreement 2020 as approved by Fair Work.
“It’s no secret the hospitality industry is struggling with staff shortages, especially of experienced staff. As a business, Grill’d will continue to focus on learning and development to upskill our people to deliver upon the best experience possible for our guests.”
Three years ago, in 2019, Grill’d found itself caught in a media storm over its traineeship program which allegedly underpaid workers.
News.com.au reported that new Grill’d employees had to undertake these compulsory hospitality training programs.
In exchange for being paid as little as $14.50 an hour — which at the time was $1.50 less than the award wage — young workers received a certificate through vocational education provider Sarina Russo.
In 2019, it was reported that Grill’d had received a total of $7,057,500 from the federal government’s Apprenticeships Incentives Program.
The fast food chain changed its pay rates in 2015 after public backlash when a worker launched legal action claiming she was sacked for asking for fair pay.
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They then changed their rates again in 2020 to include higher wages, penalty rates and overtime, which had previously not existed under the enterprise agreement.
Ninety-two per cent of 370 current and former Grill’d workers surveyed in 2018 by an Australian University Union student group reportedly said the traineeship wasn’t worth it.
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