A man who used to work in one of Lovisa’s Melbourne warehouses has gone public with wild accusations about the company’s allegedly dogshit working conditions.
Daniel Sedigh began work in the Aussie jewellery giant’s Hawthorn warehouse in 2015, which he said was on the same block as the company’s corporate office, and was employed at the company for two years. In that time, he says he witnessed all kinds of chaos including the use of faulty equipment, filthy bathrooms and boxes so mouldy they were a health risk.
Sedigh accused Lovisa of providing him and other staff with dodgy trolleys, rusty box cutters and ladders that were unstable with broken wheels.
“The wheels to these ladders just didn’t work,” he told news.com.au.
“When you’re on it, it’s very wobbly. It’s fine if you are up one or two levels. But if you have to go up all the way up — things get scary.
“You don’t have anybody there — like the protocol wasn’t for somebody just stop their packing to hold the ladder for you.”
@hi.ranii__ #stitch with @Lawyer of Fashion There are so many other things they did but here’s a few #lovisa #toxicworkplace #storytime #melbourne #bigboy
Sedigh said he also became at risk of occupational asthma because of “dusty” and “mouldy” boxes which made breathing so difficult his doctor suggested he wear a mask at work. Other areas of the warehouse like bathrooms and break rooms were also said to be filthy.
On top of all that, Sedigh also claimed staff weren’t paid properly.
“There would be days where we would all turn up for work, and someone would say ‘the printer is broken’, so you all need to go home – we wouldn’t be paid for that day,” he alleged.
“There were times when we did overtime that we weren’t paid for.”
In an email sent in November 2017, seen by news.com.au, Sedigh implored Lovisa’s Human Resources department to do something about his concerns. But after the unsatisfactory response he received, he quit.
Sedigh is not the first person to speak out publicly against Lovisa — former workers have also taken to TikTok to slam the company, and some have even claimed to have been pressured to work during medical emergencies.
@fuckitstrix Replying to @KaseyHolleran #Inverted
One TikToker claimed they were berated by a manager for not being at work at 10am on a day where they were rostered to start at 1.15pm. When the worker then explained their shift start time was hours later and they were at a doctors appointment having a heart monitor installed, they alleged management pressured them to leave the appointment to attend work.
A commenter on the video claimed their manager “started having mini strokes from the stress at work” and was allegedly berated for not coming into a shift despite being hospitalised.
@leskahofficial Replying to @ur__ummayz Lovisa needs to die. #lovisa #retail #retailproblems #melbourne #stylist #fyp
Sedigh told news.com.au he’s considering joining a potential class action lawsuit against Lovisa, which is being investigated by the firm Adero Law.
“Adero Law has become aware of a pattern of potential underpayments occurring at Lovisa Pty Ltd, that involves a failure to pay minimum rates of pay arising under the Lovisa Enterprise Agreement 2014,” the firm said on its website.
It also mentioned claims staff were told to skip meal and toilet breaks, work unpaid overtime and work extra hours during the Christmas period without proper compensation.
“If these practices have occurred across Lovisa stores, Adero may pursue a class action against Lovisa and seek that compensation be paid to any employee whose entitlements were not paid in full,” the firm said.
Now’s probably a good time to mention Lovisa’s CEO Victor Herrero raked in a massive $21 million last year. He was Australia’s second highest-paid boss for 2022. Fkn yikes.
PEDESTRIAN.TV has reached out to Lovisa for comment.
