What payroll-related actions are Bonchon franchisees prohibited from doing that involve the Bonchon brand or name?
Bonchon Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
You must communicate to all your employees that you, not us, are their employer; and you must ensure that no payroll checks or other employment-related documents (such as job applications and W-2s) contain or reference the Proprietary Marks or our name. Each of the parties will file its own tax, regulatory, and payroll reports with respect to its respective employees and operations, saving and indemnifying the other party hereto of and from any liability of any nature whatsoever by virtue thereof.
You agree to conspicuously identify yourself, your Area Development Business, your Bonchon Businesses, your Restaurants, and any other facilities of your Bonchon Businesses in all dealings with third parties as an independent Bonchon business and to place notice of independent ownership on all forms, business cards, stationery, advertising, signs and other materials in the manner that we specify and require from time to time, in our Manuals or otherwise.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 92–536)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Bonchon's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees must communicate to their employees that they, not Bonchon, are the employer. Franchisees must ensure that no payroll checks or other employment-related documents, such as job applications and W-2s, contain or reference Bonchon's Proprietary Marks or name. This is to reinforce the independent contractor relationship between the franchisee and Bonchon, and to avoid any implication that Bonchon is the employer of the franchisee's staff.
Bonchon emphasizes that franchisees are solely responsible for all employment-related decisions, including wages, benefits, hiring, firing, training, supervision, and work schedules. This is a standard practice in franchising, where the franchisee operates as an independent business owner. The franchisee is also responsible for filing their own tax, regulatory, and payroll reports.
This requirement protects Bonchon from potential liabilities related to the franchisee's employees and ensures clarity in the business relationship. It also reinforces the concept that the franchisee is an independent entity responsible for managing their own workforce and complying with all applicable employment laws and regulations. Franchisees must conspicuously identify themselves as an independent Bonchon business in all dealings with third parties.