McDonalds: Workers win right to toilet and water breks
One of Australia’s largest McDonald’s franchisees threatened employees over their right to a 10-minute break, a court has found.
The Federal Court ruled that a Brisbane franchisee was guilty of several contraventions of the Fair Work Act over a series of posts to employee Facebook groups.
Tantex Holdings Pty Ltd, which operates six restaurants in Brisbane, will be penalised following the ruling by Justice John Logan.
The Retail and Fast Food Workers Union ran a campaign and accused Tantex of “cruel and inhumane working conditions” after it claimed they were attempting to rob employees of their right to paid bathroom and water breaks.
In a post Tantex general manager Christopher Crenicean made to a Facebook group for the McDonald’s Windsor West store, employees were told: “What this means is that if we implement this (10 minute breaks) over our current situation, on your shift – this 10 minute break would be the only time you would ever be permitted to have a drink or go to the toilet.
“So I hope to god you don’t get thirsty on your next shift because we just wouldn’t be able to allow a drink. Fair is Fair right?”
Mr Crenicean said while the legislation stated that any employee who worked a shift longer than four hours was entitled to a 10-minute break, the store’s policy was to give workers a toilet or water break regardless of how long they were working.
Justice Logan found that Mr Crenicean “shot from the hip” in an attempt to shut down discussion after his workers began tagging him in a union Facebook post about their rights to a break.
“These sentences, especially taking into account the parts emphasised, constitute a threat, in effect, that if you take a 10-minute break, that will be the only time you will be permitted to take time off for a drink of water and to go to the toilet during your shift,” Justice Logan said.
Justice Logan described the ruling as unprecedented in Australia, and he could not find any cases on the right to toilet and water breaks.
Tantex and its director Tanya Maree Manteit-Mulcahy were also ordered to pay another female employee $1000 after they admitted to failing to give her a requisite 10-minute break on all but three occasions over 2½ years when she worked at a Brisbane CBD outlet.
Tantex were found of another breach when a manager at their Central Station restaurant took to Facebook to state “Christmas Day and Boxing Day shifts are final. There are no shift swaps or sick calls on public holidays” and “I will not accept a sick call past 10pm for an open”.
“In my view, each of these representations was indeed, as alleged, false,” Justice Logan said.
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