Grill’d chief executive Simon Crowe has insisted the 4000 employees of his burger chain are his top priority after more than a decade of pay disputes that led to worker strikes, multiple clashes with the Fair Work Commission and a class action.
The entrepreneur said his company’s ethics and values were “alive and strong” following a turbulent two years that included allegations his burger chain denied workers rest breaks and two rejections from the workplace umpire over proposed pay deals.
“I am completely proud of and stand behind all that we represent,” Crowe said.
“I think we should always be held to a high standard and we should keep improving. We try and do the right thing on all occasions. I don’t think we’re ever perfect, but I think we contribute meaningfully to society and to our communities in a way that we’re really proud.”
Crowe opened the first Grill’d restaurant in Hawthorn in Melbourne in 2004, differentiating its premium burgers as healthier, more sustainable and community-centric through charity initiatives. Over the past decade, as it expanded its national footprint to nearly 180 stores, the company has been dogged by a string of wage-related issues and legal stoushes.
Its latest, a class action filed by Gordon Legal and backed by the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association (SDA), alleges “systematic” failure to allow workers mandatory 10-minute paid breaks. Crowe pointed to a similar lawsuit filed against KFC was settled this year for $28.8 million, and another, launched against McDonald’s on behalf of 250,000 workers, is being heard in the Federal Court.
“We’re very comfortable that we have given people breaks through the journey,” Crowe said. “We’re going to defend our position vigorously, and that’s the process that’s underway at the moment.”
More than 1700 people have registered interest in the class action. “Through our investigation, supported by the SDA, we have heard from workers describing routinely missing breaks or feeling unable to take them during long or physically demanding shifts,” said Gordon Legal associate Lachlan Glass.
Allegations of pay issues surfaced in 2015 when 20-year-old worker Kahlani Pyrah was sacked for speaking out against the company’s WorkChoices-era deal. After a lawsuit against the burger chain led to revelations that hundreds of workers’ wages across 60 stores were being suppressed, the Fair Work Commission ordered the low-paying agreement be scrapped and the Federal Court ordered Pyrah be reinstated. Crowe promised at the time to “modernise” the outdated agreements and lift wages.
A 2019 investigation by this masthead reported accusations the company was using government-subsidised low-paid traineeships to keep labour costs down. Grill’d appointed a global food auditor after internal audits found serious food-safety concerns and a dead mouse was seen hanging from a vent. Crowe was also found to have forged the signature and details of business partner and co-founder Simon McNamara on liquor licence applications, which he has apologised for.
Previous disputes against Grill’d have come from those who were once Crowe’s closest associates. Fellow co-founder Geoff Bainbridge accused Grill’d of denying him access to financial records and Crowe of breaching director duties and using company resources to fund the operations of artisan chocolate brand Koko Black, which Crowe rescued out of administration in 2016. Bainbridge and Crowe ultimately settled for a confidential sum.
“Once upon a time, yes, Grill’d used to loan Koko [Black] money,” said Crowe. “Koko is now standalone and profitable, so it now funds itself.”
Wage issues resurfaced again in 2024, when frustrations about a new proposed enterprise pay deal led to Flinders Lane store staff going on strike. In April 2025, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) rejected the deal, finding Grill’d had painted a “rosy picture” and failed to properly explain that it would only leave workers 77¢ a week better off.
A month later, FWC deputy president Bernadette O’Neill rejected the application entirely, triggering more strikes. In October, the commission ultimately approved a deal that requires Grill’d to top up pay over the life of the agreement.
“It’s all been and gone,” Crowe said of the worker strikes.
“Our No.1 constituent is our people … If they feel like they’re cared for, if they feel like they’re respected, if they feel like they belong, then by default, that will flow through to our guests.”
The 53-year-old entrepreneur, who has “aggressive” growth plans to expand the burger chain, believes he has not been vocal enough about the company’s positive contributions, the quality of its food or its merits as an employer. Grill’d donates more than $1 million a year to charity through its donation program Local Matters and shuts seven stores on the first Tuesday every month to donate meals.
“To be perfectly honest, we haven’t done a great job of telling our story in the consumer realm,” said Crowe. “I think our actions speak louder than our words, and I think we’re very proud of what we do.”
Grill’d operates about 180 stores across the country, most (around 155) of which are corporate-owned. About 30 of these run under a tiered ownership program that allows some managers to own 5 per cent, 15 per cent or 50 per cent of the restaurant, with timeframes of three, four and 10-year periods respectively attached to those stakes. Across four years, restaurant managers can earn an extra $400,000 on top of their typical salary this way, said Crowe.
In recent interviews with managers for the program, there were “tears, hugging and joy”. “Changing lives is what we’re trying to do,” he said. “It’s the bit that gets me most excited.”
Crowe is refitting kitchen layouts and restaurant fit-outs to deliver the speed of a fast food chain while also drawing in customers who want a dine-in experience. Group and corporate bookings at Grill’d have increased, said Crowe.
“If you took [people] to McDonald’s, GYG, Hungry Jack’s, El Jannah, you’d be giving the impression that that person is not particularly important,” said Crowe. “Lots of people are using us for group bookings in a way that they haven’t done before, which talks very much to that destinational appeal, and the fact that the dine-in quotient of our business is different to anybody else.”
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Jessica Yun is a business reporter covering retail and food for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.