Zero hour contracts undermine workers’ rights

Unite Union has pledged to campaign against zero hour contracts in 2015 because they say they are used to undermine basic rights of workers.

At their national conference today Unite discussed recent cases where the existence of these type of agreements have been used against workers.

SkyCity worker Jessica Aisea who was regularly working over 30 hours a week in one of the main bars on the Casino floor when she went on maternity leave was given only one six hour shift a week when she returned to work. The company claims it has no obligation to give the same hours as part time workers are only guaranteed 8 hours a week. However in this case even that minimum was ignored. While not strictly a zero hour contract, the room for abuse remains.

McDonald's worker Stephanie Phillips was at work even though she had three broken ribs and a punctured lung. When the pain and discomfort got too much she asked to go home but this was refused. When a customer saw her coughing up blood and complained she was transferred to the drive through. She was only allowed to leave after 5 hours. Workers are able to be treated this was because they lack the power to assert their rights. They know that if they do the managers take their revenge by cutting their hours.

Restaurant Brands which owns the KFC brand has implemented a new roster this week cutting hundreds of hours from workers regular roster without consultation. Some staff have been workers regular 5-6 hour shifts for many years only to have their shifts cut to three hours. Management hours have also been cut so that it will be impossible for them to run the store without clocking out and working unpaid. Again the company believes it can do this because their are no guaranteed hours for crew at KFC.

Email from Orewa McDonald's worker Sephanie Phillips
My issue with McDonalds Orewa was on the 16th October 2014, at the time I was working with 3 broken ribs and had a cough from a rib puncutring my lung. I let the resteraunt manager Tyler Steed know that I may have to leave a shift early if it played up and got bad, of course I was told that was fine and just to let him know if I wasnt handling my shift. This day I was rostered on for a 10 hour shift (11am-9pm). Around 12pm I started coughing a lot and had to make a few trips to the bathroom as I was coughing up a little blood. At 12.30pm I went on my half hour break, hoping my cough and blood would calm down and allow me to work again. I called my boyfriend of the time and told him what was going on and he was adamant I needed to go to the hospital. I went into the resteraunt and told the afternoon shifty who was going to start at 2.30 that I needed to go to hospital and my partner was coming to pick me up. The shifty was ***** ***** and she said yes to it but had to ring the resteraunt manager to confirm it. She was then told that she was not 'allowed' to let me leave my shift until cover was found. She spent the next 2 hours trying to find cover even calling other stores to see if anyone could come in, while she was doing this I was still serving customers and handling there food, stopping every minute of so to cough. I was on service for a little bit until I coughed while talking to the customer and got blood all over my hand that I had coughed up. The customer was shocked as to why I was at work and told me I shouldn’t be there. After this I was made to run drive through so the customers couldn’t see me coughing. **** asked the senior manager Jodie Dix if she could just send me and the store be down until they found cover but again was told no. It went on this way until just after 4pm when **** ****** decided to just let me leave my shift, she called the restaurant manger Tyler Steed and he wasn't happy about it and hung up the phone.

After my hospital visit I went back to McDonalds Orewa to hand in my Medical Certificate as I had been signed off from work until the 27th October 2014. During my period where I was covered by my medical certificate I was still rung in early hours of the moring to ask if I could work shifts.

Crew member 2

Heya.
I'm an employee at the KFC in hamilton. I know everyone's hours have been cut and there's been a massive change in the rosters but my hours have been cut by at least 15 hours. My regular rostered hours would be about 25-30 hours but next week's is cut down to 10 hours with only 2 shifts. That's a dramatic change and is not really appreciated. I'm always the one to stay on when needed and to come in early when asked but this just seems to go unnoticed. I don't know if you can do anything about it but it would be greatly appreciated if some thing was done.

Thanks

Crew member 3
Hi Mike I'm currently researching these changes and feel it breaks some parts of our contract. I'm going through it now but it clearly says in our contract shifts are to be offered to staff who have been here longer and this is not being done with the new way of rosters. Action needs to be taken as managers can't help in this regard. Here is some examples of hours lost of senior staff as from next week.

16 hours lost
6 hours lost
14 hours lost
10 hours lost
6.5 hours lost

This is affecting people's paycheck to pay off rent, board and travel, for a cut of 16 hours seems illegal unless the employee agrees to the change especially in KFCbusy peak time,

Regards

Crew member 4
I am totally agree with you . I was a assistant manager in kfc but last week i step down from my position the only reason i step down is because of restaurant brand and new head office team. They put so much pressure on team that many of them went in stress for there job and some are resigning. All of my staff are not happy the way managers and company treating them but scared to come out and tell to union. The company cut off the hours and if the employee is not working fast on the shift managers start scolding them but the actual reason in short of staff.

Hope UNITE can resolve this situation and stand for the right of employees.

Regards

KFC Manager 2
Basically, it is stared with roster hours cut.

the new roster template is forecasting of 89k sales /week, and 765 hrs in a week.

please note, we did about 95k weekly for about 4 weeks in recent. last week used 850 hrs, our target is 870, I saved 20 hours.

1, Kris (op manager) send the email before, our labour target is 16.5% of total sales, and use $18/ hr for labour. ( thats including manager and non management)

base on that we should have 815 hrs so there is 50 hrs cuts even based on his 89k forecasting.

2, short morning shift, 11-3, 11.30-2.30, 12-3.30 ect... people who doing morning shift is rely on this job to pay their rent ect... no one happy to do this kind of short hour shifts. besides, we need more staff in the morning, he reduced 1 or 2 shift in each shift.

3, many mistakes on the roster template. no break for staff work over 6 hrs, only 2 FC from Mon to Sun everyshift even Friday... etc

on his email, he wrote that RGM not to be change the shifts, just add staff name in front of shifts. he will visiting store to discuses any issues. ( I will get a copy of that for you later)

today he come to my store.

all my staff are worry about the hours, and no one wants to do such as short hour both morning and night. and we are getting busy, sales over 15% increase compare with last year, and more increase both on amount of money and % than most other store in the area, so there is no point to cutting hours now. and we used below target hours.

almost all the staff goes to him one by one, ask him about roster. then he gets angry about me and come to me says why you tells all your staff their hours cuts turn them against me.

and I said, I didn't, when I received roster template, on the email he asked RGM to just put name in front of shifts, so I need to communicate with my team to check who can do those shifts, because this is not the normal roster i'm making.

he said he is here today to discuses the roster, so I said I can follow exact your roster template but there are some mistakes, I just point outs those mistakes about roster, but he said those not the mistake, this are for reason, I ask why, but he wouldn't answer and said to me, before you ask me I need to ask you question. I saidok, you can ask.

he stars saying like you store is not clean, why the boxes on floor, and stars yelling to me. and question me why i didn't work yesterday (Wed), I said I worked from 12 to 8pm, I was take my wife to midwife appointment at 10am. I roster my self on 9-5 but when i made the roster i forgot the appointment, so i tell him I did my shift, he said why you are not info me about it. I said sorry I left message to my store, i will let you know next time. but he said who can prove you worked 12-8pm, and i said you could check the clock in details. he reply immediately says anyone can clock in for you! That's so unfair to say that, and in front of all my staff, and loud enough for front counter staff to hear of him( we were in the office).

I feel this is bullying to me, and he can't just assumed I get other people clock in, and i did turned up for work!. But he wouldn't listen just turned away. All he does that just because staff angry about his roster, and he think this is because of me.

i was very upsets and also feel bad Stomach pain, I ask him if I could leave early, I left shift early applied 3 hrs leaves.

today, the staff told me after I left he is tell all my staff like" look your store manager just left like this, ect.. try to undermines me in front of my staff.

I think his behavior is totally unacceptable. as area manager he wouldn't listen to staffs' feedbacks on his template to find a way to achieve a win-win solution but yelling and blaming on his store manager. this is will only kill this business, and putting extra unnecessary stress to staff and myself.

look forward to hearing from you soon.

Cheers,

ENDS

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