Jenee Tibshraeny: NZ Herald Wellington business editor on the widespread payroll issue impacting 40,000 McDonald’s staff

Around 40,000 McDonald’s staff are likely to be compensated, as the fast-food chain corrects a widespread payroll issue dating back 15 years.

McDonald’s is contacting those employed between November 1, 2009, and December 6, 2020, asking them to check a portal on its website to see if they’re eligible for reimbursement.

The company is one of countless employers, including government departments, that miscalculated leave entitlements outlined in what’s proven to be a very confusing Holidays Act 2003.

NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explains who stands to benefit from this.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
If you worked at McDonald's between two thousand and nine
and twenty twenty, about forty thousand current and former McDonald's
staff might experience a little winfull because of having to
correct a widespread payroll issue Gene tibtraine as the Heralds
Wellington Business editday ag and eighty.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
What happened, right, So there's a Holidays Act two thousand
and three, and that is proving to be a very
complicated and problematic piece of legislation because a whole bunch
of employers, including government departments, have misinterpreted the Act and
paid people incorrectly. And this relates to and you'll leave

(00:38):
holiday pay that type of thing. Now, for some years,
various employers have been reimbursing staff because of this spotch up,
because of this confusion under the act. And McDonald's is
the latest large employer to start this quite significant reimbursement project. So,
as you said in your intro, around and current and

(01:01):
former McDonald's staff are likely to be compensated. The company
reckons they'll receive tens of millions of dollars. The load
tens of millions. Wouldn't say exactly how much, but I've
had a little look online on various social media platforms,
and you know, people are talking about receiving three thousand
dollars one two hundred, someone's talked about receiving ten thousand dollars,

(01:25):
So good news for some people.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
Do you know if it comes with interest, like, are
you going to get it in two thousand and ninees
money or are you going to get it in twenty
twenty fours money? Because Jeney, that's a different story.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
Well, that is a very good question, and I don't
know the answer to that. It sounds like a really
complicated process all of this, and because McDonald's the various
stores are owned by various franchisees, so the issue has
been pulling them all together and figuring out what the
payments are. So actually, some people have been overpaid over

(01:59):
the years. Those people won't be asked to repay McDonald's.
But the issue here is that there are some stores
where people won't be reimbursed. Yeah, so there's about a
handful of stores that are either they're outside of this
massive process that the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

(02:19):
is involved with with McDonald's, and those people will log
onto this portal online and be told that they won't
be repaid for now at least. So yeah, complicated issue
and I think there will probably be some disappointed people there. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (02:35):
Well, okay, thank you, Jena, I really appreciate it. Thanks
so much for talking us through it. GENETI Training The
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