Young Australian workers prepare for class action against KFC over alleged failure to provide mandatory breaks

KFC is facing a class action as young Aussie workers allege they’ve been deprived of mandatory working conditions.

Young Australian workers are forming part of a class action aimed squarely at the fast food behemoth, KFC.

The looming legal battle revolves around allegations the company has systematically failed to provide its employees with mandatory ten-minute breaks.

Shine Lawyers and the Retail and Fast-Food Workers Union are running the class action which will allege tens of thousands of former and current KFC staff members may have been deprived of essential breaks.

They claim 90 per cent of those affected are likely to be under 24.

One such worker is Lily O’Sullivan, who worked at a KFC outlet in NSW’s Illawarra region between 2019 and 2020 and has signed on to the class action.

Former KFC worker Lily O’Sullivan claims the company did not give her 10-minute breaks. Picture: Supplied

She alleged she was denied breaks when she sought them out.

“It was shut down so swiftly that after chatting to colleagues, I quickly realised it wasn’t something I could ask for again,” she said.

Vicky Antzoulatos, the Joint Head of Class Actions at Shine Lawyers, expressed her concerns about the allegations.

“Our claim is likely to allege that vulnerable workers were not provided the rest breaks they were entitled to,” she said.

Young Australian workers are launching a class action against KFC over failure to provide mandatory breaks. Picture David Clark

“Many of these workers were just kids facing tough working conditions, who would not have had the confidence or knowledge to speak up and demand the breaks they were owed.”

Josh Cullinan, the Secretary of the Retail and Fast-Food Workers Union.

Shine and the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU) have put the call out to anyone who has worked for a KFC restaurant from October 2017 onward, claiming they may be eligible to participate in the class action.

KFC said they had not been contacted by the Retail and Fast-Food Workers Union or Shine Lawyers.

“KFC Australia takes its obligations under the Fair Work Act and KFC National Enterprise Agreement very seriously, including our obligation to ensure employees take the paid rest breaks they are entitled to,” a spokesperson said.