I played Papa’s Freezeria and all I got was exploited

There’s nothing cool about violating labour law.

Image credit: Flipline Studios

The sun is lounging on the skyline but you aren’t — you’re suffocating at your underpaid summer job. You watch frozen clocks, you discreetly check your messages under the table for a shot of serotonin. As you leave, you see the sun has entered the horizon’s rusted coin slot. You wrap your hands around your body like the jacket you left at home.

The doorknob clicks and you’ve made your mind up about how to spend the coming hours. You will relax from your anxiety fuelled day of work by mirroring another — you will play Papa’s Freezeria. Taking orders from entitled cartoons is your idea of serenity. But does Papa’s Freezeria follow any labour laws whatsoever? Is the beleaguered gamer able to pursue any legal avenues for compensation?

Papa’s Freezeria opens with a traumatising storyline — on your first shift at a beachside ice cream shop, the manager abandons you, entrusting you with all responsibility. Although your cartoon avatar grins, behind the screen your head is in your hands. 

Although the jurisdiction under which Papa’s Freezeria resides is unclear, in Australia employers are under legal requirements to adequately train and supervise new workers. In determining levels of supervision, the job’s risk level, worker’s age and experience, and/or competence should be considered. Papa’s Freezeria lacks a rigorous identification process — I started playing during Year 7 Geography at the ripe age of twelve (too young to legally seek employment). My experience preparing food didn’t extend past two-minute noodles, and the freezeria blenders definitely posed a hazard to my limbs. The lack of supervision was certainly illegal. 

Before Papa leaves you unsupervised, he luckily remembers to hand you a manual with which you can navigate the treacherous waters of managing a Freezeria. This manual is reassuring, but not for long — it promises “stress-free work.” Anyone who has spent more than five minutes in the Freezeria is themselves frozen with fear. It must be asked, is this promise contractually binding, or mere puff? 

There is a fine line between a misrepresentation and statement that is obviously not a fact. A statement can be misrepresentation when it induces another party to enter into the contract — since I flocked to this side-hustle to soothe my teenage neuroses, perhaps I was misled with a myth of idyll…

Another element of life as a Papa’s Freezeria worker that would shock any labour lawyer is reaching into your own pocket. As the days pass, you are offered opportunities to furnish the shop with fascinating fixtures that keep customers in a flutter. But, the worker is shocked to hear that these movables must be purchased with their own keep. This undoubtedly breaches the Fair Work Act — employers cannot unreasonably require employees to spend their pay in relation to the performance of work. 

Papa may have gotten off scot-free thus far, but not on my watch. Save yourself, avoid animated exploitation — steer clear of Papa’s unethical franchises.