Does Burneys Sweets More direct the employees of a franchisee's shop?
Burneys_Sweets_More Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
You are responsible for ensuring that your employees comply with the brand standards. The people you retain to work in your Shop will be your agents and employees. They are not our agents or employees and we are not a joint employer of such persons. You will be solely responsible for recruiting and hiring the persons you employ to operate your Shop and must determine whom to hire, how many people to hire, retain, and train, and how you will compensate such persons. You are responsible for your employees' and agents' training, wages, taxes, benefits, safety, schedules, work condition, assignments, discipline, and termination. You must comply with all applicable employment laws. We will not operate your Shop, direct your employees, or oversee your employment policies or practices.
Source: Item 15 — OBLIGATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ACTUAL OPERATION OF THE FRANCHISE BUSINESS (FDD pages 39–40)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Burneys Sweets More FDD, franchisees are responsible for managing their own employees. Burneys Sweets More states that the people working in the franchisee's shop are the franchisee's agents and employees, not Burneys Sweets More's.
Burneys Sweets More franchisees are solely responsible for recruiting, hiring, retaining, and training their employees, as well as determining how many people to hire and how to compensate them. The franchisee handles all aspects of employment, including wages, taxes, benefits, safety, schedules, work conditions, assignments, discipline, and termination, ensuring compliance with all applicable employment laws.
Burneys Sweets More explicitly states that they will not operate the franchisee's shop, direct the franchisee's employees, or oversee the franchisee's employment policies or practices. However, franchisees are responsible for ensuring that their employees comply with the brand standards set by Burneys Sweets More.
This arrangement is typical in franchising, where the franchisee operates as an independent business owner responsible for their own staff while adhering to the franchisor's brand standards and operational guidelines.