The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA) is seeking compensation on behalf of more than 250,000 current and former McDonald's workers across Australia.
If successful, the union said the claim would be one of the largest of its kind in Australia's history.
The SDA is alleging workers at more than 1,000 current and former McDonald's sites were denied their uninterrupted 10-minute break when working fours hours or more during a shift.
South Australia branch secretary Josh Peak said McDonald's workers were told if they want their paid break, they cannot get a drink or go to the toilet.
He said in almost two years of investigation the union had heard more than 10,000 accounts from former and current employees, including young Australians, at McDonald's stores across Australia.
“Workers were systematically, deliberately denied the rights to those breaks,” Mr Peak told ABC Radio Adelaide Breakfast.
“It's just not good enough that a large employer such as McDonalds would create a scheme that leads to people not being paid correctly or getting base entitlements.”
The statement of claim alleged workers had to seek permission to get a drink or go to the bathroom and could be directed to resume work before their 10-minute break was up.
Mr Peak said workers were misled or not informed about their rest break entitlements and the multi-billion dollar corporation should be penalised for it.
“It is really outrageous behaviour to be tricking young people into thinking they are not entitled to go the toilet if they utilised their paid entitlements,” he said.
“Workers never got their paid 10-minute rest break and when workers did ask for it, they were told 'we don't do that here because you can go the toilet whenever you like', which is completely ludicrous.”
SDA seeks $250m compensation from McDonald's operators who allegedly denied paid breaks to Australian workers – ABC News https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-12/claim-lodged-against-mcdonalds-over-alleged-denied-paid-breaks/101326134