Muffin Break Explained

Muffin Break
Type:Division
Industry:Hospitality
Founded: in Coolangatta, Queensland, Australia
Founders:-->
Area Served:Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom
Owner:Foodco

Muffin Break is a franchise business of Foodco which operates small bakery cafe coffee shops throughout Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. As of 2013, Muffin Break had 275 stores worldwide: 190 in Australia, 37 in New Zealand and 46 in the United Kingdom.[1] Muffin Break is the sister company of Jamaica Blue, which is also a franchise of Foodco.[2]

History

The Muffin Break concept originated in Canada in the 1970s but was acquired by Foodco and refined for contemporary conditions.[3] The first of the new style Muffin Break stores opened in 1989 in Coolangatta, Queensland.[4]

The first Muffin Break store in New Zealand opened in Auckland in 1994.[5] Muffin Break entered the UK market in 2001.[6]

In December 2015, a partnership was made between Foodco and Croc's Playcentres, an Australian family entertainment centre franchise. The partnership saw Muffin Break cafes included in all new Croc's Playcentres and existing Croc's franchisees given the opportunity to convert their cafes to Muffin Break cafes.[7]

Labour practices

In 2014, an investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman found a 24-year-old student working at two franchised Victorian stores had been underpaid almost $20,000. The store owners agreed to repay the employee and entered into an enforceable undertaking with the Ombudsman.[8] [9]

In 2016, the former owners of a franchised Hobart store were investigated by the Ombudsman and found to have underpaid two employees over $46,000 between April 2014 and December 2015. The store owners agreed to repay the employees and entered into an enforceable undertaking with the Ombudsman.[10] [11]

On 23 February 2019, Muffin Break General Manager made headlines when she spoke about young people not wanting to work unpaid internships, telling a journalist: "There’s just nobody walking in my door asking for an internship, work experience or unpaid work, nobody." These comments were later refuted by the journalist who wrote the original story as being misinterpreted “She never said she expected all of her employees to work for free, as many online seem to be suggesting, only that those who put themselves forward to do unpaid work were more likely to get a job”[12]

In September 2019, the Australian Fair Work Ombudsman found that franchisees of Jamaica Blue and Muffin Break cafés had underpaid 166 employees a total of over $26,000.[13]

In April 2023, Wage Inspectorate Victoria charged a Muffin Break franchise in Melbourne with 360 child labour offenses relating to three employees under the age of 15.[14]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: About Us. muffinbreak.com.au. 1 March 2015.
  2. Web site: Muffin Break: Muffin Break UK. Matt Ireland : Simon Murton : Bryt. muffinbreak.co.uk. 1 March 2015.
  3. Web site: Our Story. Muffin Break, UK. https://web.archive.org/web/20190226132858/https://muffinbreak.co.uk/our-story/. 26 February 2019. live. 26 February 2019.
  4. Foodco Group Announces Acquisition . infonews.co.nz . 10 April 2010 . 26 February 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190226132701/https://www.infonews.co.nz/news.cfm?l=1&t=0&id=50687 . 26 February 2019 . live .
  5. News: Cafes, food retailers trade better next to fashion powerhouses, Muffin Break boss says. Shaw. Aimee. 6 April 2018. The New Zealand Herald. 26 February 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190226133153/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12025799. 26 February 2019. live. 1170-0777.
  6. Web site: Muffin Break continues UK expansion drive. 14 August 2018. Hospitality & Catering News. https://web.archive.org/web/20190226134007/https://www.hospitalityandcateringnews.com/2018/08/muffin-break-continues-uk-expansion-drive/. 26 February 2019. live. 26 February 2019.
  7. Web site: Croc's Playcentres ties up with Muffin Break. 9 December 2015. Franchise Business. https://web.archive.org/web/20190301144326/https://www.franchisebusiness.com.au/news/croc-s-playcentres-ties-up-with-muffin-break. 1 March 2019. live. 1 March 2019.
  8. Web site: Muffin Break worker underpaid $20,000. O’Byrne. Thomas. 18 October 2014. Herald Sun. 1 March 2019.
  9. Web site: Muffin Break stores to reimburse underpaid Chinese student $20,000. 10 October 2014. Fair Work Ombudsman. https://web.archive.org/web/20190301151934/https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media-releases/2014-media-releases/october-2014/20141010-muffin-break. 1 March 2019. live. 1 March 2019.
  10. Web site: Former muffin shop owners stiffed staff. Kempton. Helen. 3 November 2016. The Mercury. 1 March 2019.
  11. Web site: Chinese workers underpaid $46,000 at Muffin Break outlet in Hobart. 3 November 2016. Fair Work Ombudsman. https://web.archive.org/web/20190301151633/https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media-releases/2016-media-releases/november-2016/20161103-muffin-break-franchisee-media-release. 1 March 2019. live. 1 March 2019.
  12. Web site: 2019-02-24. Muffin Break outrage misses the point. 2020-09-08. NewsComAu. en.
  13. Web site: Jamaica Blue and Muffin Break employees back-paid . Fair Work Ombudsman . 28 November 2019.
  14. News: Australian Associated Press . 2023-04-26 . Muffin Break franchise hit with 360 child labour charges . en-GB . . 2023-08-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230611171411/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/apr/27/muffin-break-franchise-hit-with-360-child-labour-charges-jobs-hiring-age . 2023-06-11 . 0261-3077.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Muffin Break".

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