Four former employees at Australia's The Cheesecake Shop are filing a lawsuit against the bakery, alleging underpayment and labour exploitation.

Josh Peak of Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA), representing the workers, said they believe the workers were being paid below minimum wage at AUS$13 and not getting paid leave. Branded Cheesecake shops are almost all operated under a franchise. They said they felt powerless to complain for fear of being deported; one of the workers has lodged an unfair dismissal claim when he was sacked after making a complaint.

A statement from a company spokesperson can be read in full below.