Harvey Norman

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When former employees reported several instances of sexual assault by two managers, Harvey Norman refused to respond, stating they are a franchised company. Their advice was to contact the perpetrators for a resolution.

When pressed, Harvey Norman involved lawyers who threatened the former employees before refusing to respond further.

“During a Harvey Norman Christmas party, a manager repeatedly grabbed my genitals.”

“My manager constantly showed me explicit videos from his Twitter/X account. Another manager constantly showed me explicit videos from his WeChat account.”

“I was chased by my manager from the front of the store into the warehouse. He trapped me in the warehouse to scream at me. He didn’t let me leave until I began to cry.”

Harvey Norman gets employees (usually a salesperson) to set an ABN. Harvey Norman sells the right to operate under their name for $1 (some reports claim $2). Harvey Norman claims the holder of that ABN is operating an “independent business.” The key thing to remember is that in most cases, the “independent business owner“ doesn't own any of the assets required to operate a stand alone business. All assets and liabilities are controlled by Harvey Norman directly.

Not a single Harvey Norman investor we spoke to was aware of the company’s business structure. Each investor believed Harvey Norman was franchised in the same manner as Jim’s Group or McDonald’s. Imagine for a moment if KFC revealed to their investors that they were directly responsible for every liability operating under their name.  

In each of the three Harvey Norman businesses we investigate, we found hundreds data leaks. Customer phone numbers, email addresses and invoices were shared over WhatsApp. Photos of telco and finance contracts were shared between employees using WhatsApp. 

Harvey Norman head office was fully aware its “independent business owners” and managers were pitching an elaborate cryptocurrency (GroveToken) scam to employee.
The GroveToken cryptocurrency scam was pitched to employees during work hours in Harvey Norman stores across Australia.
GroveToken marketing materials and corporate Documents were being created and distributed with Harvey Norman stores during work hours.

“My manager sat me down in his office and explained how he was going to be a millionaire. He showed me how to create the cryptocurrency accounts and how to transfer GroveToken between them. I lost thousands.”

”My manager was relentless. He spoke about GroveToken more than our actual job. He didn’t stop until we invested.”

“When GroveToken kept falling, he always had an excuse. He kept talk about how rich all the other Harvey Norman managers were getting.”

”They stole from us. It’s that simple.”

Harvey Norman has faced frequent complaints of underpayment reported by current and former employees. This isn’t just a question of unpaid commission or compensation. 

Just one employee that we spoke to claimed they had not been forced to repeatedly work seven days a week for over a year in order to progress within the company. These hours were not officially recorded and were obviously not compensated.
Another employee reported hundreds of unpaid hours and a management team that mocked his request for due compensation regarding his wages.