The Styrian Chamber of Labour (AK) currently warns against the Danish company "b:hip Europe". They market energy drinks in all of Europe. According to the AK, they specifically recruit teenagers and young adults for their direct sales. Furthermore, their sales practices would indicate a Ponzi scheme, as the youngsters invest their own money first and later also acquire their friends for the job, who then invest themselves.
High emotional and financial investment
In Austria, the company seems to be especially active in Styria. An article on the news website "help.orf.at" describes that the teenagers engage in a highly emotional relationship to the company and call their team a "family". They participate in workshops and travels abroad. In an example case, a young adult invested several hundreds of Euro, without earning anything. Some minors would even lie about their age, so they could work for "b:hip Europe".
The AK warns against working for the distribution company. Parents should not encourage their kids to do this kind of jobs. It is very important to carefully check the conditions of the job in writing as well as in reality. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to turn to the AK in your region.
