‘Keep working’: Jim’s Mowing boss promises to pay franchisees’ lockdown fines

Jim’s Mowing founder Jim Penman has taken on Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews in a bid to keep the franchisees of his well-known mowing business working.

Penman, one of the most familiar faces in Australian business thanks to his likeness on the side of franchisees’ vans, has reportedly told Jim’s Mowing franchisees in Victoria to keep working amid the state’s strict lockdown. This is despite Andrews telling the media on Monday that strict new lockdown rules meant “there will be no cleaners, there will be no mowing your lawns”.

Under new rules announced on Tuesday, Victorians caught breaching self-isolation orders can be hit with a $4,957 fine.

But speaking to Sky News on Wednesday, Penman said that the Victorian Government’s own guidelines said grounds maintenance workers are permitted to operate as an essential business and that he had taken legal advice that Jim’s Mowing franchisees wouldn’t be fined for doing so.

Regardless, Penman said he would pay any fines his franchisees received, and called on the Victorian government to clarify what were considered essential businesses during lockdown.

“The problem isn’t that we’re disobeying the law, the problem is that the law is unclear,” he said.

The businessman also appeared on ABC News Breakfast on Wednesday, where he pointed out that grounds maintenance did not require interaction with customers, thanks to electronic payments.  “We are abiding by the law,” he reiterated. “The problem is that the Premier said something which is against the advice of his own department.”

Penman founded Jim’s Mowing in 1982 with a $24 investment and now runs a $500 million franchising group called Jim’s Group, which has branched out far from mowing to offer pest control, cleaning, dog-washing, fencing, handyman and many other franchised services.

Penman told Brooke Corte at 3AW last week that Covid-19 had caused a business boom for Jim’s Group as Aussies sought home services during lockdown periods.

“We’ve already had more work than we can handle in some areas,” Penman told 3AW. “We’re signing up double the number of franchisees that we were last year because we’ve got so much work and people need jobs.”

On Wednesday, many social media users agreed with the self-made millionaire’s stance on the safety of grounds maintenance during lockdown..

“I must admit, if it’s safe to run a click and collect business, it’s safe to run any business where it’s one person with no contact with others,” one wrote.

Another said they mowed lawns for a living, adding: “I can go days without seeing a client, and can easily maintain distance from anyone. In fact, having a garden power tool operating is a great excuse to keep people away. I also insist on electronic payment (no cash) so there are zero risks of transmission. There’s absolutely no reason to shut down lawn mowing or any other gardening service.”

However, other’s disagreed: “Just stay home!! Stop spending that time finding ridiculous loopholes”.