Current and former staff encouraged to check out payroll remediation portal
McDonald's is reaching out to thousands of employees who might be underpaid because of a widespread payroll issue that lasted more than a decade.
The company is asking individuals it employed between November 2009, and December 2020 to check the portal on their website to see if they're eligible for reimbursement.
About 40,000 employees are likely to be compensated, according to the New Zealand Herald, with the total payout to be "in the low tens of millions of dollars."
It noted, however, that not all affected employees might be repaid.
According to The New Zealand Herald's report, former employees might not get reimbursement if the franchise owner they worked for had closed the company.
They might not also get reimbursement if the employers decided to opt out of the collective remediation process, which the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE) would deal with, according to McDonald's.
McDonald's NZ says it has approval from MBIE to begin remediation relating to annual leave and holiday annual leave pay for employees who worked at McDonald's between 1/11/09 and 6/12/2020.
“Current and former staff of company-owned and franchisee-owned restaurants, who worked during the remediation period, are encouraged to check the McDonald's payroll remediation portal,” it said on its NZ website.
The MBIE said it is important that McDonald's does not hold up majority of the franchises that are ready to repay employees so many can get their reimbursement early on.
Holidays Act issue
The underpayment stems from miscalculated leave entitlements outlined in the Holidays Act 2003, according to the Herald, and adds to the growing number of employers who miscalculated leave entitlements due to the law.
To address the issue, the New Zealand government said it is planning to reform the Holidays Act.
"We need the Act to be workable for everyone, from the multi-national corporates to the small-town family run restaurants," Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden previously said.
The minister acknowledged that the processes and calculations in the Holidays Act are "so complex" that many employers find themselves non-compliant.
"It is important that any improvements to the Holidays Act provide enduring solutions that will be responsive to constantly evolving work arrangements and business needs," she said.
