Junique Fashion Ex-Employees Allege Undeclared Work and Missing Contracts
Belgian Minister of Consumer Protection Rob Beenders (Vooruit) is calling on current and former employees of the fashion retailer Junique Fashion to report labor violations, following testimonies from former workers who claim they never received employment contracts and were paid partially in cash from store registers. The allegations, reported by VRT NWS, add a new layer of scrutiny to a company already facing consumer complaints over undelivered orders and a reported debt mountain.
Testimonies of Undeclared Work
Multiple former employees from Junique Fashion stores in Ghent and Antwerp have come forward with strikingly similar accounts. Workers say they were recruited through Instagram, communicated with via WhatsApp, and left alone in stores without proper training or contracts.
Marie*, a former employee at the Ghent store, told VRT NWS that a store manager promised her 18 euros per hour — 12 euros deposited into her account and 6 euros taken directly from the cash register. “I never saw a contract,” she said. Lisa*, who also worked in Ghent, said she waited nearly three months for the portion of her wages that was supposed to be deposited into her bank account, receiving payment only after threatening legal action.
A former employee at the Antwerp store, Sarah*, described receiving instructions via WhatsApp and being left alone in the store without knowing how the cash register worked. She too said part of her wages was paid in cash from the register and that she waited months for the remainder.
Company Denies Systematic Fraud
Junique Fashion’s lawyer denies allegations of social fraud, describing the situation as “a storm in a glass of water.” The lawyer acknowledged one incident in 2024 involving two employees who received 12 euros per hour net instead of the agreed 18 euros, and were instructed by former managers to take the remaining wage from the cash register.
“We also work with a social secretariat. That secretariat is independent of us and has the absolute obligation to act legally. For everyone hired within the company, a dimona declaration is made and they sign an employment contract,” the lawyer said.
However, the employee testimonies are more recent than the 2024 incident the company references, and the workers maintain they never saw contracts.
Minister Calls for Reports
Minister Beenders, who had already opened an investigation into Junique Fashion following consumer complaints about undelivered packages, is now urging employees to come forward. “Social fraud has no place in our society,” Beenders said. “When I read the testimonies, I see that it often concerns very young employees who are brought in, where wages and working conditions may not be correctly applied.”
He added: “Wages paid cash in hand, without control and proof of payment, are practices that should belong to the distant past.” The minister is directing employees to the Meldpunt voor een Eerlijke Concurrentie (Reporting Point for Fair Competition), the official channel for reporting social fraud in Belgium.
Financial Troubles and Management Concerns
An exclusive investigation by HLN revealed that Beximp BV, the company behind Junique Fashion, carries a debt of €340,228.30 across 16 creditors, including over €207,000 owed to the Federal Public Service Finance and nearly €47,500 to the National Social Security Office (RSZ).
HLN also discovered that Jugraaj Singh (25), a key figure at Junique Fashion and co-founder of Beximp BV, is subject to a five-year management ban until January 2031, following a previous bankruptcy with a one-man business also called ‘Junique’ that left over €1 million in debts.
Consumer Complaints Continue
The labor allegations compound existing problems. HLN has knowledge of at least 7,000 packages that customers are still waiting for from the company’s July 10 stock sale. Consumer organization Testaankoop has received about 30 complaints about Junique Fashion, with about 20 arriving in August alone, according to Testaankoop.
The Consumentenombudsdienst (Consumer Ombudsman Service) reports the company is not cooperating with mediation efforts. Earlier this year, HLN reported that Junique Fashion was itself a victim of online fraud when scammers created a fake webshop using the company’s identity.
What’s Next
The company has promised all outstanding orders from the summer stock sale will be delivered by September 4. Whether the social inspection services will find evidence of systematic labor violations remains to be seen, and the company’s financial stability is increasingly in question. A source close to the company has expressed fears that Beximp BV could ultimately go bankrupt, with activities potentially continuing through another entity.
Names marked with an asterisk are pseudonyms; real names are known to the editorial team.