Snow storm impacts workers pay

By MSN NZ Money staff

10:30 AEST Tue Aug 16 2011

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Business news

The company that looks after some of New Zealand's biggest fast food stores has come under fire for advising workers they won't be paid for hours lost during this week's snowstorm, claims a union.

Christchurch Unite Union says Restaurant Brands New Zealand, who owns KFC, Pizza Hut and Starbucks, is legally obligated to pay workers for their rostered hours — regardless of whether they turned up to their shift or not. They are one of a number of companies the union is targeting for being tough on workers who had difficulty arriving to work due to the weather.

"We understand that the only option left to the staff is to use what annual leave they may have, which is truly disgusting," Unite Union organiser Matt Jones told the NZ Herald.

A spokesman for Restaurant Brands has advised that workers who turned up for their normal shift will be paid, as will employees who arrived for work but due to the bad weather the manager decided to not open the store. Staff will also be paid any remaining hours if a store had to close early due to the snow storm.

Restaurants Brands have said they might make an exception for staff with genuine reasons for not being at work but each case would be considered individually.

Have your say: Do you think workers should be paid for their hours even if they were unable to turn up to their workplace due to the bad weather?

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User comments

You can sure tell who is an employee and who owns a business from these comments.If you can't make it to work because of the snow I can't open my business because of the snow,so where's the money to pay you with supposed to come from.Businesses don't have a bottomless bank account from which to draw from,in fact almost half of business owners I talk to make less than most of their employees. Everyone seems to think that the business owner should have prepared for this , how does anyone prepare for something that only happens every other decade or so.Insurance why should the company be the one that pays premiums for something that may never happen, where's the personal responsibilty.If your worried you the employee could get your own insurance,but no pass that responsibility on to your employer so when they don't have it, it's something else you can whing about.If you don't like the rules where you work find new employment or if you have the guts start your own business.STOP WHINGING

I think there should be goodwill towards the staff who are not able to attend work due to circumstances beyond their control such as snow storms. As perviously mentioned large companies like KFC, Pizza hut and Starbucks make huge profits and can 'weather' the loss far better than a lowly paid worker. Legally they don't have to pay but are they going to continue to take advantage of the less advantaged in our society who already are struggling to make ends meet. all the money thay pour into advertising is a waste if they continue to represent themselves as greedy, uncompassionate bullies who are only interested in making as much money as possible. I will be sending a message by not frequenting their establishments unless they can show more concern for their workers under extreme circumstances.

The whole point of working is a business deal. You work and provide the service that the employer requires, and the employer pays you. You don't provide that service, regardless of the reason, why should the employer pay you? Maybe the employer should have insurance for that type of thing. Maybe the employee should have insurance for that type of thing! Why is it always the employer who is portrayed as the bad guy. Sort your own lives out!

Perhaps all those customers who planned to buy takeaways, but couldnt make it to the store should still be charged for the takeaways they didn't get and orders they couldnt place. That would help pay the wages of the staff that didnt show up to work. Perhaps during the powercuts we should still be charged for the power that we might have used. As a self employed person I dont get paid if I dont show up to a cusotmer site. If employees dont want it taken off annual leave, then leave without pay is an option.

Our company knew about the weather and let everyone know what the plan was if it snowed. We have been closed down here in Christchurch and I would say our branches down south and also Wellington would have been as well. It is the safety of the staff which our company has looked at and we were advised to stay home the last couple of days and tomorrow morning it will be reviewed again if we open or change our hours for the day. All companies should have the correct insurance cover for unforseen events which happens, that is why you have insurance. So pay your insurance excess and claim for loss of wages so your staff get paid and don't have to use annual leave.

Funny That a big company like Restaurants Brands leaves the social fairness to the little companies that really DO look after thier staff . We wont be buying restaurant brands ...KFC etc for a while ..Vote with ya feet and dont buy from these companies for a while

my road elmslie road had heaps of snow couldnt even drive up my drive way but i still went to work just got the snow off my car and ice and that was at 5.30am and i still work and my car still cant get up the drive and its been snowing again then maybe black ice

We cannot control the weather nor can we predict just how bad the conditions would be. We were given plenty of warning this weather was coming, and companies should've been prepared and should have known that they would not be fully staffed, c'mon, some of these workers have young children and with school being closed, had no other option but to stay home with them, plus, the snow this time round is lasting twice as long and is twice as thick! If companies expected their staff to turn up for their shifts and they get into an accident because of the conditions, who pays then? plus, with most people opting to stay home, what is the point of opening for business for a handful of customers? I think it would cost more to run the store open than close it for a day or two.

Its not the companies fault either that they couldn't work and it is a loss of income for the company. Yes people should definitely be paid - the company I work for certainly does. Hopefully the company has a good insurance policy to cover it... it should be standard in every business insurance policy!

its not my fault i cant get into work i travel by bus and metro info isnt running, so how am i to get there with no transport and if i did get to work i will be ignoring the advice of the police which is unless its an emergancy stay of the road, why should i be penalised for a situation the weather has created.

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