Brands International Restaurant to Review "No-Poach" Franchise Agreements



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One of Canada's largest fast food companies claims that it will revise a controversial clause in its franchise contracts less than a week after many competitors in the United States gave up similar wording to avoid antitrust litigation.

The so-called "no-poach" clause, in which franchisees sign agreements prohibiting them from hiring employees of other franchisees, is common, but it has recently raised concerns because it could stifle wages and incentives for large farmers to rethink practices

. He is the owner of Tim Hortons, Burger King and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, a clause that appears in the agreements with franchisees in Canada and the United States and which has more than 10,000 restaurants

Devinder Lamsar, RBI's word. in the retail and restaurant sector.

"Franchisees invest heavily in training members of their team and they still have it"

However, the parent indicated that he was aware of recent issues surrounding the practice.

"We will be discussing with our franchise advisory boards in the coming weeks, to change this clause to reflect a more mobile workforce," said Lamsar.

Change would tie in with Seven fast food giants who pledged last week to end the practice in the US States to avoid a prosecution of the Attorney General's Office of the State of Washington. a statement, the Attorney General's Office opened an investigation this year because clauses may violate the antitrust provisions of the state's Consumer Protection Act.

Four of the seven companies have a significant Canadian presence: Arby's, Carl's Jr., Cinnabon and McDonald's. None of the companies answered the question of whether his Canadian franchisees are subject to rules of non-poaching and , in the if they intend to stop using them north of the border.

published a discussion paper at the end of 2017 that reviewed the 2016 year documents for all franchisors with more than 500 franchise units in the United States and found that 58 percent of contracts included such a clause. Eighty percent of the 40 fast-food restaurant operators included in the document imposed a no-poaching rule.

The paper suggested that the clauses could lead to a suppression of wage growth

. According to the document, unemployment is low and job opportunities are high, but wage growth "has remained surprisingly low."

The data was provided by FRANdata, a franchise market research company. A company spokesman said that he could not provide similar data for Canadian franchises as it lacked comprehensive information for the country.

The Canadian Press has asked more than a dozen operators on the US list a significant presence in Canada. -policy rules in their Canadian franchise agreements – a majority of which did not respond.

Dunkin & # 39; Donuts, whose parent company also owns Baskin-Robbins, has denied the inclusion of the clause. A spokesman for Dunkin's Donuts said the company had removed the provision more than 15 years ago for both channels, and even though it still appeared for some franchisees under the terms of the agreement. an older agreement, it was not applied

. The franchise agreement has no anti-poaching provision in both countries.

RBI was the only company to acknowledge the use of the clause and stated that it was considering changing its policy as questions were raised about this practice. on Twitter

Companies in this Story: (TSX: QSR)

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