McDonald’s hit with $100m class action for allegedly asking staff to work for free

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McDonald’s Australia has been hit with a class action from the union for fast food workers seeking $100 million in backpay for current and former employees who were allegedly asked to work one hour each shift for free.

The SDA union alleges McDonald’s asked 25,000 managers and supervisors from 1000 stores across six years to arrive at work 30 minutes early to their rostered shift to conduct a “pre-shift check” and stay back an extra 30 minutes to finish handover tasks without pay.

McDonald’s is one of the largest employers in Australia.

Supervisors and managers were asked to perform a checklist of dozens of tasks before their shift began, but were allegedly asked not to clock on until their shift officially began.

Pre-shift tasks included completing safety checks, reviewing calendars, cleaning dining and kitchen areas and preparing machinery, while after-shift tasks included ensuring the safe and tills were balanced and recording waste, according to the union.

SDA national secretary Gerard Dwyer accused McDonald’s of “operating on a broken business model” and said the practice was “wage theft and exploitation on a colossal scale”.

“As one of the country’s largest employers, McDonald’s should not be requiring managers to work up to one hour per shift without pay,” Dwyer said.

“We estimate that a manager working five shifts a week could have been required to complete up to six weeks’ worth of work completely for free.

“No matter how you slice the burger, what McDonald’s and its franchisees have done is unlawful and illegal. McDonald’s must pay these workers back for the millions in pay they’re owed,” he said.

The class action has been launched in the Federal Court in South Australia, with Lieschke & Weatherill Lawyers representing the SDA.

The court action not only names McDonald’s as a respondent but also 325 McDonald’s franchisees. SDA is also calling for the court to impose penalties on the burger giant.

SDA national secretary Gerard Dwyer says what McDonald’s and its franchisees have done is unlawful and illegal.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

In a statement, McDonald’s said it would respond to the claim in due course. “McDonald’s Australia takes its obligations under all applicable employment laws very seriously,” the company said.

“We value our people and the contributions they make to our restaurants every day. We are committed to ensuring they receive all correct workplace entitlements and pay under the Fast Food Industry Award and the former enterprise agreement.”

Mikayla Martin-Coats, a former McDonald’s shift supervisor and department manager, said she worked at the fast food giant for three years and that getting to work half an hour early was “not a choice, it was an expectation”.

“If I didn’t get to work 30 minutes early, I would be called in for a meeting and receive a warning from my manager. It wasn’t worth risking getting there on time,” she said.

“Pre- and post-shift work was always unpaid and never on my roster. I gave up a lot of my time and got nothing in return … I know now that what my employer was doing was wrong, but I felt powerless to do anything about it.”

In a statement, the union said it had collected thousands of responses from current and former McDonald’s workers and included an extensive checklist document that appears to be from McDonald’s.

The document, titled Experience Management Tool: Make delicious feel good moments easy for everyone, contains a long list of tasks broken down into categories: “On Arrival”, “Pre Shift Walk Thru”, “On Shift” and “Before You Leave”.

The “Pre Shift Walk Thru” section was broken down into further sub-sections, such as customer areas outside (such as the car park or drive-through), customer areas inside (such as clear table and seating, the cleanliness of floors, windows and glass doors, condiment bars and bathrooms), kitchen areas, and remote areas, such as the walk-in fridge.

SDA documents, which omitted names, also included an excerpt of written feedback provided by some managers to some employees that conveyed positive comments to the individual but urged them to come to work before their shift began.

“Pre-shift as you know is something I am really big on, if you do not set your shift up properly, you are setting yourself up for failure. This is something I really need to see you implement and lead by example with, ensuring you get to the store 15-20 mins before your shift is essential. You want your team to follow you have to do it also [sic],” one manager stated.

Another manger told an individual that their leadership and attitude had improved, but also encouraged them to “set up shifts correctly”. “You are always 30 minutes early for your shifts which shows your commitment to the store and our results,” they wrote.

Earlier this week, the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union, which is separate to the SDA, launched legal action against supermarket giant Woolworths for allegedly changing rosters without proper consultation that resulted in reduced pay.

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