A major Australian law firm has initiated a class action against the global fast-food giant KFC, intending to recover alleged unpaid wages for as many as 100,000 former and current employees.
The action marks the second major firm to announce it’s going after the fast food giant.
It was filed the with the courts after a year-long investigation by Gordon Legal into the alleged wage exploitation experienced by numerous Australian team members, including many under 18 years old.
The lawsuit contends that KFC, which employs more than 40,000 individuals, failed to provide its staff with paid rest breaks over the course of the past six years.
If successful, this legal action could see thousands of current and former KFC workers eligible for compensation, potentially resulting in total claims worth millions of dollars.
“KFC took advantage of individuals who are often at the start of their careers, and they either don’t know their entitlements or are afraid to speak out,” alleged Andrew Grech, a Partner at Gordon Legal.
Representative applicants Neel Kashap and Roshanpal Singh expressed their disappointment, alleging, “We were both young and inexperienced when we started at KFC and feel disappointed that our inexperience was taken advantage of.”
KFC stated this week: “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.”
Earlier this week, Shine Lawyers and the Retail and Fast-Food Workers Union announced a potential class action against KFC, stating it was aware of tens of thousands of former and current staff members allegedly deprived of essential breaks.
They claim that 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.
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.
“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.”
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Josh Cullinan, the Secretary of the Retail and Fast-Food Workers Union.
Shine and the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU) have called 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.
News.com.au understands Shine’s lawsuit will be ready in coming months.
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