Subway sandwich artist rip off

Subway is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates. The company doesn't own a single location, but collects 8% of revenue from each franchise. Fred DeLuca borrowed $1,000 from family friend Peter Buck, to open his first sandwich shop in Bridgeport, Conn. in 1965. Today there are 44,000 stores in 110 countries. DeLuca oversaw day-to-day operations of the company until he died in September 2015. Buck and DeLuca's heirs each own 50% of the company.

In 2016 media sources reported a dip in Subway profits which in the USA resulted in the closure of a number of its outlets.

This franchise fast food company has outlets in many UK cities and in 2016 Forbes reported;

So why would such a huge company employ an "apprentice Sandwich artist" for a pittance of pay"?

Notice the fancy job title!

There was a time when an apprenticeship led to a job for life but previous Tory governments slashed apprenticeships.

Apprenticeships have made a comeback but are they anything more than cheap labour?

Look at the job advert above. There are eight positions up for grabs at £3.40 an hour and to include weekend working.

Is there anything in that job description that really needs an apprenticeship?

Most of the work could be learned on the job shadowing staff or as some used to call it "sitting with Nellie."

But the odds are there are few real staff members available to carry out the training.

Employing as part of the apprenticeship scheme Subway are able to legally offer a pathetic wage. £119 a week is a small wage but if you have a benefit sanction in place it is one option.

Before people assume young workers will still be sitting pretty at home making £119 a week an affordable wage think again.

Some kids have no surviving parents, are from broken marriages, are forced to leave home for many reasons or may even already be a parent themselves.

Subway is a big money making venture.

If franchisees cannot afford to pay a liveable wage should they really be running such an establishment?

​The Metro reports this is not the first time Subway has been taken to task adding some social media responses;

Keri Warbis wrote: ‘£3.40 per hr for a 14 month (yep 14!) ‘apprenticeship’ making sarnies. (The smell of a Subway has ensured I’ve never entered one, tbh).’

Another user Ethan Mills added: ‘How are subway offering a “sandwich artist” apprenticeship, paying £3.40 p/h that’s acc criminal.’

The Healty Pins Twitter was also unhappy and wrote: ‘TIL Subway has a “sandwich artist” apprenticeship in the U.K. as an excuse to pay £3.50 an hour. #todayilearned #til

A spokesperson for Subway said: ‘The franchisee of this store was unaware of this advert which was posted by a recruitment agency. ‘Together we are working to have this advert removed immediately. ‘Subway requires that all franchisees comply with employment law when recruiting and contracting, and in all dealings with, employees.’

That sounds like they were caught but may continue abusing the apprenticeship scheme. Check out this report from 2012.

It also sounds like they are using a recruitment agency. Such agencies get rich out of YOUR work. The employee may earn little in part because of the recruitment agencies cut.

The UK government claims that the jobless total continues to fall but is the work found a so-called "real job"?
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More:
https://www.forbes.com/companies/subway/
http://metro.co.uk/2017/03/18/subway-criticised-for-paying-apprentices-just-3-50-an-hour-6518746/