After speaking out about rampant underpayment and 60-hour working weeks, former 7-Eleven employee Bharat Khanna is helping other international students avoid exploitation, including one who has been allegedly paid as little as 48 cents an hour.

Mr Khanna said 7-Eleven workers were still being exploited despite being paid hourly rates of up to $25 on paper. After being paid the correct rate, they were then asked to hand back about $9 per hour in cash to their managers, leaving them underpaid at rates of $16 per hour.

More than 20 workers at 7-Eleven franchises in Northern Sydney, Newcastle and the Central Coast have told Mr Khanna they are still being asked to hand back cash to franchise owners.

"It's all done verbally because they don't want to keep any records," he said. "On paper everything is good. When people say no to handing back the cash, they no longer have a job. People are still not getting pay slips or proper breaks."