Is McDonald's cheating my pay?

jaackyy on 20/08/2014 - 22:31

Hey guys, just wanted some clarification on a subject.
Currently, I am 18 and employed part time at McDonalds whilst im full time at Uni (some income is better than no income i guess)

Basically,
When I was in my Summer holidays earlier this year , my availabilities to work was practically every day from 7am-midnight.
At some point, I decided to undertake Certificate 3 in Retail Operations as part of my employment, initially I was just a casual worker,
but a requirement to undertake this cert, was that I had to become part time, as I would be getting payed roughly 6 hours a month to complete some book work
for this course.

Once I started Uni however, my availabilities dropped down to all day on weekends, and a few nights after 6-7pm till 11pm.

Now, As a part time worker, I should be getting at least 10 rostered hours per week but as I'm part time doing this Cert 3, it's actually 13 hours minimum per week. However for the last 5 months or so, this has not been the case, as I was only allocated about 3-8 hours each week. I understand that if you are not rostered for the minimum 10/13 hours as a part time worker, you should still technically be payed for the difference.

Example: I'm rostered for 4 hours in one week, but they still have to pay me for 13 hours, as I am a part-time worker.

However, I have not been getting payed for this difference each week. When I approached one of the managers, they said that I did not have enough availabilities to be rostered on for 10 hours. However, I thought this was odd as there are plenty of high school kids (16 year olds etc) who were getting up to 8 hour shifts on the weekends regularly (assuming to save labour costs).

So my question is, as a part time worker, is this rules on pay absolute? Am I supposed to be getting payed every week for the minimum 13 hours if i'm not being rostered that many hours, even if my availabilities are not what they used to be.

TL:DR;
Part time McDonalds worker
Availabilities changed due to full time Uni
Not being rostered a minimum of 13 hours
Not being payed for 13 hours
Is this wrong?

Poll Options

  • 3
    Yes, You should be payed for the minimum hours regardless of your availabilities
  • 16
    No, you don't get payed if your availabilities changed
  • 1
    Other (please comment)
Financial

Related Stores

McDonald's
McDonald's

Comments

  • cypher67 on 20/08/2014 - 22:37

    Without having a look at your contract its impossible to tell. If it specifies a minimum number of hours or dictates a set timeframe will make all the difference. I suggest getting someone experienced in your family to have a look.

  • ProspectiveDarkness on 20/08/2014 - 22:53
    +4

    You really need to have this conversation with someone at the store and read through your Enterprise Agreement - section 14.2 is especially pertinent. On one hand, a part time worker must be rostered at least 10 hours (according to the Maccas Enterprise Agreement… it doesn't say anything about this Certificate AFAICS) - so your current situation is definitely wrong. But since you changed your availability, they may be within their rights to reduce you to casual since it changed the initial circumstances of the part-time agreement. This conversation should have already taken place, and you would've had more rights to rely on because the situation was documented in the Agreement. Now? They might just do whatever they want… downgrade you to casual and shut you up, for instance, since it would be most convenient for them.

    So: talk to the store manager, not just a shift manager. Make sure you mention the Enterprise Agreement.

    Source: still have a Metime account.

  • smpantsonfire on 20/08/2014 - 23:21

    Chances are that when you changed your availabilities they put you back onto casual. Are you getting paid hte PT rates or Casual rates?

    Only if you have finished the retail training could they have done that, and the 13 hours per week is generally an average of over 4 weeks. Still not meeting that I see.

  • jaackyy on 20/08/2014 - 23:59
    +1

    I'd agree with the both of you two above, but I'm still being payed the base rate as a Part Time worker, whilst not being rostered for 13 hours each week or reimbursed for these hours. So I don't receive any form of casual loading either.

    I'm 100% it is a 13 hours a week minimum, not over 4 weeks, whilst I'm very much still under-taking the retail course.

    • smpantsonfire on 21/08/2014 - 19:54

      Sorry i meant average of 13 over 4 weeks like, 10 + 10 +16 +16 / 4 = 13.

  • Heizenberg on 21/08/2014 - 00:30
    +1

    its a tough one. if your part of the union, give them a call see if they can help you out.

    • bghunter on 25/08/2014 - 12:23

      As far as I know, the union would still help even if you are not a member. Definitely give them a call to know about your rights

  • Geewhizz on 21/08/2014 - 06:13
    +5

    Talk to Fairwork Aust or a union rep.

  • jaackyy on 21/08/2014 - 10:23

    I was hoping someone here would have some knowledge about it, before I approach the Store Manager himself, as I don't want to end up being told some BS and not knowing my actual rights.

  • John-John on 21/08/2014 - 10:48
    +5

    Do not fear approaching the store manager yourself. You are 18 - fresh out of school - new into Uni so it's a great learning situation. Approach him with the "can you help me" start up line.
    Be calm, be courteous, be precise. Explain exactly what you have explained to us. Ask if he could clarify
    the method/rate you are paid. Tell him that with the limited research you have done you 'believe' that your rate/hours of pay doesn't match what you believe to be the correct amount. "can you help explain this to me please? What am I missing in my calculations?"
    Just one other thing. If you encounter a 'brush off' and not a satisfactory explanation - leave by asking one other question. "Who do you suggest I speak with so I can get a perfect understanding of my situation?"
    That will let the store manager know that you will not let this issue go away until you are totally educated
    and sure of the answer.

  • minniethemoocher on 21/08/2014 - 12:50

    Additional to the above it helps a lot if you go to your manager with a solution eg I can work these hours to make up the 10 hours. Sure they should pay you for 10 hours regardless if you work them but in reality they probably aren't going to. You've changed your availability and it sounds like you asked to go parttime because it suited you. It probably suited them too, due to no loading. I also wonder at what rate you are accruing annual/sick leave. Follow up any verbal request by putting it in writing. Speak to your union and/or fairwork. There is some good info on their website. While they might help you you sometimes the best solution will come from you.

    • jaackyy on 21/08/2014 - 13:05

      No, I was forced to go part time as a requirement of signing up for the Retail 3 Training, apparently it's a Government Requirement.
      Yeah fair enough, I'm going to go speak to him on the weekend and was just hoping that I'd be in the right here, and get reimbursed. As a similar situation happened with one of my co-workers who was promoted to a Crew Trainer, but wasn't paid for her work as a trainer.

      • smpantsonfire on 21/08/2014 - 19:57

        crew trainer pay is 50cents an hour only when training. Wouldn't fight that.

  • [Deactivated] on 21/08/2014 - 18:25
    -7

    Get a proper job. Unless you're 16 years old, you'll only get 1 hour a week.

  • jaackyy on 21/08/2014 - 21:06
    +1

    @smpantsonfire, yeah i know, thats just an example of what happened to one of the workers at my store.
    @Orpheus, The store is less than 5 minutes walk from me, so it's more for general convenience and an easy source of income. I'm full time Engineering student at uni, so my availabilities arn't that great, which makes getting a new job quite difficult.

  • Davo1111 on 22/08/2014 - 21:30
    1. speak to your manager
    2. read your contract
    3. read your contract again
    4. Speak to someone in HR
    • Baysew on 22/08/2014 - 21:45
      +1

      5 Keep a sharp eye out for the Hamburglar.

      • tonyjzx on 25/08/2014 - 12:58

        his boss is the Hamburglar it seems

  • Serapis on 29/08/2014 - 00:03

    Where did you get 13 hours from?

    Check your Enterprise Agreement:

    MCDONALD'S AUSTRALIA ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013
    https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/documents/agreements/fwa/AE…

    Page 7,

    14.1 A part-time employee is an employee who:
    14.1.1 Works less than 36 hours per week but shall work at least 10 hours per
    week.
    14.1.2 has reasonably predictable hours of work.

    AFAIK minimum is 10 hours a week for PT, not sure about additional conditions for traineeship since unsure which state you're in, but it 13hrs would be true if it fully work based and in VIC:

    http://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/training/learners/…

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