McDonald’s workers should have taken their mandated breaks in minutes-long increments, Federal Court documents claim

More than 60 ex-workers suing McDonald’s for underpayment should have taken breaks in minute or minutes-long blocks, the fast food giant will argue.

A McDonald’s franchisee defending claims of underpaying workers and denying them 10-minute breaks is arguing it is legal for them to be taken in a “series” of mini-breaks of just a few minutes each.

Documents lodged in the Federal Court show the number of workers who have now joined a class action against the franchisee owner of restaurants at Felixstow, Frewville and Mount Barker has quadrupled to 61.

However, defence documents lodged by franchisee G & J Olle Pty Ltd deny workers were underpaid and not taking their mandated breaks. The defence argues workers were told of their obligation to take the breaks.

The lawyers also argue a proper interpretation of the award that mandates break schemes for workers did not require 10-minute breaks had to be taken in one block.

“The break could be taken non-continuously; that is, over a series of breaks adding up to at least 10 minutes,” the defence statement reads.

Initially 14 workers joined the legal action by the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association, which represents fast food workers, but numbers swelled in the three months since the suit was launched.

Some workers are claiming they were underpaid and denied breaks during hundreds of shifts.

The revised statement of claim lodged with the court shows the workers claim they were not directed by managers or senior staff to take a 10-minute continuous drink break.

According to the enterprise agreement that covers all McDonald’s workers, any employee who works longer than four hours is entitled to a 10-minute paid drink break.

Any employee working longer than nine hours gets a second paid drink break.

The statement of claim says workers have suffered loss by both missing out on the advantages of a break and the “physical and psychological benefits” of working without the break.

The case has the potential to affect more than 100,000 staff employed at more than 970 McDonald’s restaurants across Australia.

Many of the workers were aged in their late teens and early 20s when they claim to have been denied their mandated breaks.

Dozens of pages of annexures attached to the court documents details hundreds of shifts undertaken by the workers for which they claim to have been underpaid.

One worker claims to have been underpaid on 289 different shifts between September 2014 and February 2016.

Last Tuesday, Justice Richard White ordered the parties into mediation before a registrar of the Federal Court.

He also ordered discovery of a series of documents from the SDA on behalf of the workers and the franchisee.

The matter will return to court in October if mediation is not successful.