What aspects of employee management are the sole responsibility of the Big Blue Swim School franchisee?
Big_Blue_Swim_School Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
However, you have sole responsibility and authority for your labor relations and employment practices, including, among other things, employee selection, promotion, termination, hours worked, rates of pay, benefits, work assigned, discipline, adjustment of grievances and complaints, and working conditions. School employees are exclusively
under your control at the School. You must communicate clearly with School employees in your employment agreements, human resources manuals, written and electronic correspondence, paychecks, and other materials that you (and only you) are their employer and that we, as the franchisor of BIG BLUE Swim Schools, and our affiliates are not their employer or joint employer and do not engage in any employer-type activities (including those described above) for which only franchisees are responsible. You must obtain an acknowledgment (in the form we specify or approve) from all School employees that you (and not we or our affiliates) are their employer;
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD pages 75–76)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Big Blue Swim School FDD, franchisees have sole responsibility and authority for their labor relations and employment practices. This includes employee selection, promotion, termination, hours worked, rates of pay, benefits, work assigned, discipline, adjustment of grievances and complaints, and working conditions. Big Blue Swim School franchisees are required to communicate clearly with school employees in employment agreements, human resources manuals, written and electronic correspondence, paychecks, and other materials that the franchisee is their employer, and that Big Blue Swim School, as the franchisor, is not their employer.
Big Blue Swim School franchisees must also obtain an acknowledgment from all school employees that the franchisee, and not Big Blue Swim School, is their employer. Big Blue Swim School may provide guidance on adequate staffing levels and conducting criminal background checks, but the franchisee alone will review the results and make employment decisions based on those results.
This means that while Big Blue Swim School sets brand standards and may offer training programs, the franchisee is fully in charge of all day-to-day employee management decisions. This is a typical arrangement in franchising, where the franchisee operates as an independent business owner responsible for their own staff. Prospective franchisees should carefully consider the implications of these responsibilities, including the legal and financial aspects of being an employer.