7-Eleven Australia has bowed to public criticism and removed a distasteful Facebook post, in light of a recent wages scandal.

The company this week uploaded a post of a photo of man dressed in a suit who appeared to be on a date outside a 7-Eleven outlet, and was captioned: “When pay day hasn’t come but you want to spoil bae …”

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The meme was meant to be a fun promotion for the upcoming “7-Eleven Day” on Saturday when customers can get a free medium Slurpee or a regular coffee with any purchase, Fairfax Media reported.

But the public said it was insensitive, considering a Senate inquiry was launched into the convenience store giant, following allegations thousands of workers were underpaid by franchise operators.

Former workers also claimed the company charged employees from $30,000 to $70,000 to sponsor them on their visa.

This week Facebook users were furious about the post by 7-Eleven Australia.

“The irony of 7-Eleven putting up a meme with ‘Is it pay day yet’,” one person wrote.

“What if payday hasn’t come because you’re illegally underpaying workers?” another user said.

An ABC’s Four Corners and Fairfax Media joint investigation revealed the pay rort in August.

Between July and August, a review of 225 stores revealed more than two thirds had payroll compliance issues.

“I ask [franchisees] why there [sic] not paying correct rates for this trading period. The reply was to save money,” one review of a store in outer-east Melbourne read.

“[Franchisee] has admitted not paying the correct wages,” read another review of a store in western Sydney.

After public backlash about the promotional Facebook post this week, 7-Eleven Australia then removed it and wrote an apology.