After years of campaigning and pressuring McDonalds to pay out ex-employees millions of dollars owed from mistakes in calculating holiday pay, they have finally got around to it.
Any one employed at a McDonalds Restaurant between 1 November 2009 and 6 December 2020 should apply to see if they are owed money.
Let's be clear, McDonald's aren't doing this because they are nice or like parting with money. This is happening because of Unite Union, because thousands of McDonalds' workers joined a union that discovered this was happening, and then fought for a solution. Feel free to remind people that justice like this only happens because workers form unions.
If you haven't yet applied
You can check what you are owed on this page. You will need to provide your full name, Date of Birth and IRD number to identify yourself. The important thing to look for is if there are any deductions. These will be where McDonalds claim they have overpaid you and the site will ask you to agree to deducting this from what they owe you (McDonalds refers to this on the site as "offsetting"). You do not have to agree to deductions and our advice is not to. They can only deduct from what they owe if you give them consent. If you withhold or withdraw consent they will have to pay you the full amount of the underpayments.
If you have already applied
If you have already completed the form online and have (or may have) given consent for deductions, you can withdraw that consent. Send an email as follows:
"I withdraw my consent to deductions under the Wages Protection Act. Please pay me the full amount of underpayments without deductions."
Add your full name and the store(s) you worked at.
If you receive an email or other communication asking you why you won't consent to deductions simply repeat the email text above. You don't have explain anything more to them. Feel free to refer them to us if needed.
If McDonalds says you are not owed any pay at this stage
Firstly, check if the store and employer you worked for has agreed to take part. Many past and some existing franchisees have not agreed to pay. If you can't find the restaurant and employer you worked at on this page (under "Companies covered within this remediation" at the bottom of the page) then they have refused to pay what they owe. If they are not listed let us know your McDonalds work details (email support@unite.org.nz or use the contact page on this website). We are following up to apply pressure to these employers to do the right thing and the more information we have the better.
It is also possible that your holiday pay was paid correctly. If your hours of work were regular and didn't vary during your employment that may be the case. If not, then it is possible they are claiming more deductions than they owe you - but you don't have to accept that. You can email myholidaypay@nz.mcd.com as above to make sure they don't do that.
Feel free to forward a link to this page to anyone who worked at McDonalds any any time between 2009 and 2020. We have tried to contact all our members from McDonalds during that period but there are literally tens of thousands of workers potentially owed money.
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