Who is responsible for hiring, disciplining, supervising, promoting, and firing employees at a Stretch Zone franchise?
Stretch_Zone Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Employee Information and Assistance. We will provide to you employee hiring information including pay scale suggestions and a standardized interviewing/selection system as described in the Operations Manual. No employee of yours is an employee of ours for any purpose whatsoever. You are solely responsible for the hiring, disciplining, supervising, promoting and firing of your employees and the establishment of their salaries as provided in Section 4.5 of the Franchise Agreement. (Section 2.9 of the Franchise Agreement.)
Source: Item 11 — ITEM -11 FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND TRAINING (FDD pages 36–44)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Stretch Zone Franchise Disclosure Document, the franchisee is solely responsible for all employment-related decisions within their franchise. This includes hiring, disciplining, supervising, promoting, and firing employees, as well as establishing their salaries.
Stretch Zone provides employee hiring information, including pay scale suggestions and a standardized interviewing/selection system, detailed in the Operations Manual. However, the FDD clearly states that the franchisee's employees are not employees of Stretch Zone for any purpose. This reinforces the franchisee's independent contractor status and autonomy in managing their workforce.
This arrangement is typical in franchising, where franchisees operate as independent business owners. While Stretch Zone offers guidance and resources, the franchisee bears the ultimate responsibility and liability for all employment-related matters. Prospective franchisees should understand the implications of being an employer, including compliance with labor laws and managing employee relations.