What is the Crave Cookies franchisee's responsibility regarding the terms and conditions of employment for its personnel?
Crave_Cookies Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- (e) Sole Responsibility.
Franchisee is solely responsible for the terms and conditions of employment of all of its personnel, including recruiting, hiring, training, scheduling, supervising, compensation, and termination.
Franchisee is solely responsible for all actions of its personnel.
Franchisee and Crave Cookies Franchising are not joint employers, and no employee of Franchisee will be an agent or employee of Crave Cookies Franchising.
Within seven days of Crave Cookies Franchising's request, Franchisee and each of its employees will sign an acknowledgment form stating that Franchisee alone (and not Crave Cookies Franchising) is the employee's sole employer.
Franchisee will use its legal name on all documents with its employees and independent contractors, including, but not limited to, employment applications, time cards, pay checks, and employment and independent contractor agreements, and Franchisee will not use the Marks on any of these documents.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD page 47)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Crave Cookies's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the franchisee has sole responsibility for the terms and conditions of employment for all personnel. This encompasses all aspects of employment, including recruiting, hiring, training, scheduling, supervising, compensation, and termination. The franchisee is also solely responsible for all actions of their personnel.
Crave Cookies and the franchisee are explicitly not considered joint employers, and the agreement stipulates that no employee of the franchisee will be considered an agent or employee of Crave Cookies. To ensure clarity, the franchisee and each of its employees must sign an acknowledgment form stating that the franchisee alone is the employee's sole employer within seven days of Crave Cookies's request.
The franchisee is required to use its legal name on all employment-related documents, such as applications, time cards, paychecks, and employment agreements, and must not use Crave Cookies's trademarks on any of these documents. This reinforces the separation between the franchisor and the franchisee's employees, ensuring compliance with labor laws and preventing any confusion about the employer's identity.
While Crave Cookies may set minimum qualifications for certain employee categories and may require the franchisee to provide training programs to its employees, the franchisee retains control over the employment terms and conditions. This arrangement is typical in franchising, where the franchisee operates as an independent business owner responsible for managing their own workforce within the framework of the franchise agreement.