Convenience chain store 7-Eleven has had to apologise after posting a picture on Facebook joking about what to do ‘when pay day hasn’t come’ amidst allegations the company underpays and overworks staff.
The Facebook meme was promoting the upcoming ‘7-Eleven Day’ this Saturday when the chain will offer a free medium Slurpee or regular coffee with any purchase.
The photo of a young man out on date outside a 7-Eleven outlet was captioned “When pay day hasn’t come but you want to spoil bae …”
Facebook users were unimpressed with the joke following a joint Four Corners and Fairfax investigation which found 7-Eleven was underpaying a number of overseas student workers and expecting them to work twice as long for half pay rate. Internal company documents showed 69 per cent of 7-Eleven stores had ongoing payroll issues.
Facebook commentators attacked the deleted post:
“The irony of 7-Eleven putting up a meme with ‘Is it pay day yet'”
“What if payday hasn’t come because you’re illegally underpaying workers?”
“I can win $711? That’s almost a month’s wage for a 7-Eleven employee.”
7-Eleven social media managers have since posted an apology and commented on people’s complaints, encouraging them to direct their complaints to a hotline and a website.