A branch of sandwich giant Subway has removed a poster which threatened staff with the deduction of a full shift’s pay if they received a complaint or used a mobile phone.
The store in Mayfair, central London, displayed a notice telling staff: “Anyone caught using [a phone] will lead to loss of pay for that shift! (sic)”
The poster also stated there would be “no pay for that shift” if the store failed a head office inspection or if a customer lodged a complaint.
Subway said that, while each of its stores is an independent business, it had recommended its Mayfair franchisee review their “employment practices to ensure that they comply with all applicable laws”.
Employment lawyer Katie Mahoney described the notice as “draconian” and said it was “unlikely” to be enforceable.
“This policy could be lawful if it is written in the employee contract. But just having a staff notice is unlikely to be sufficient to be enforceable,” she told HuffPost UK.
“What they are suggesting seems a little unfair when there is no loss to the company. It does seem a bit draconian.”
Mahoney said there was a risk that, if enforced, the policy could mean a person earns under the minimum wage – something for which only a few exceptions apply.
“It does depend on what their contract says – if their contract says they can make those deductions then they might be bound by it,” she says.
Subway told HuffPost: “Each store is owned and operated as an independent business by an individual franchise owner, who is responsible for employment and remuneration of their staff, in accordance with applicable laws.
“The poster that you have identified has not been provided by and does not reflect any policies of the Subway brand.
“We have contacted the franchise owner about this, and they have removed the poster.
“We have also recommended that they review their employment practices to ensure that they comply with all applicable laws.”