Industry experts say strip club fines 'commonplace'

Thursday, 17 May 2018

A list of fines at Christchurch strip club Calendar Girls has been revealed as part of an employment dispute with a former dancer.

More exotic dancers have come forward criticising what they call unfair and 'coercive' fines imposed on strip club workers.

It is so widespread one strip club manager said, 'If there are clubs who say that they don't do it, then they're probably not telling you the truth.'

Former Calendar Girls' dancer Jessica Clifford plans to sue the club. She claims she was unjustly dismissed and was underpaid for dances and her share of tips.

Some advocates and former dancers have called for an end to the practice, while others have defended the system as a means of maintaining order.

It comes after Stuff revealed 22-year-old Jessica Clifford was planning to sue Christchurch strip club Calendar Girls in a case that has exposed the club's inner workings.

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A document provided to Clifford's employment advocate in response to a contract contained an exhaustive list of fines, including $50 for missing a spot on stage to $2500 for dancing for a competitor.

'It scared a lot of the girls, because that was their only income,' Clifford said of the fines system.

Calendar Girls said it 'strongly denied' Clifford's allegations.

Labour Inspectorate national manager Stu Lumsden said the inspectorate would be 'closely watching' the results of Clifford's case, particularly the Employment Relation Authority's (ERA) decision about whether she was a contractor or an employee.

'Should it be demonstrated that she is an employee and not a contractor, we will be following this up with the employer to ensure all their employees receive their minimum entitlements,' he said.

Kiwi Strippers sales manager Lexie Annan, a former dancer who has held management roles in the industry, said the fines system was more common than not in clubs.

'I've danced all over New Zealand and overseas and fines are commonplace in a lot of strip clubs.'

The fines covered dress codes, no-shows and lateness. She disliked the system, but understood the rationale of club owners for imposing them.

'I guess they're using fines to reinforce their point that 'this is a job', and to take that seriously,' she said.

Annan praised Clifford for speaking up. It was difficult for dancers to do so as they risked never working in the industry again, but felt it would help if dancers objected collectively.

A former Calendar Girls dancer, who did not want to be named, said she left the business last year due to the overly long hours, the need to produce a medical certificate to avoid incurring a fine, and not being able to work for other clubs or agencies.

Many of the dancers were under 20, she said. In her view, the fines were 'ridiculous'.

Former Christchurch sex kingpin Terry Brown, who was a consultant to a dozen brothels, said the extent of the Calendar Girls' fines were unlike anything he had heard of.

Stanley Simpson, venue manager for The Club strip club in Queenstown, said fines were common in Australasia.

'If there are clubs who say that they don't do it then they're probably not telling you the truth,' he said.

Simpson said his club tried to keep its fines to a minimum, with a maximum of $20 for lateness and $100 for not showing up to a shift. Half of all fines were donated to charity and the remainder were used on staff events, he said.

'You do need people to turn up at your opening time and if everyone did what they wanted, the whole thing would be chaos.'

Under employment law, employers can make deductions from an employee's pay if they have written agreement, consult the employee for each deduction and if it is for a reasonable and lawful purpose.

Contractors have no protection under the Wages Protection Act.

Clifford said she was not provided with an employment agreement or a contractor agreement. The ERA is set to decide the first issue, whether she is an employee or a contractor, as Calendar Girls maintains.

Annan said paperwork was rare in the industry and that, in her experience, most dancers considered themselves contractors.

Some clubs 'blurred' the lines by including clauses that were more applicable to employees, she said.