A McDonald’s restaurant franchise has been fined £12,400 for employing schoolchildren illegally in what is reported to be one of the biggest prosecutions of its kind.
Child employment officers from Surrey County Council discovered over 50 breaches of the law at the franchised restaurant in Camberley, Surrey. Ikhya Enterprises, which run the franchise, was fined £12,400 after being found guilty of 20 offences at the Woking Magistrate’s Court.
The breaching of employment regulations related to schoolchildren of 15 and 16 and included:
- a 15 year old boy having worked 16 hours on a Saturday which exceeded the permissable limit by seven hours.
- a 16 year old who worked until 2a.m. on a school day having started at 5p.m. the evening before.
Surrey County Council’s Child Employment Officer, Ian Hart, said that the case was one of the biggest prosecutions over the illegal employment of schoolchildren and expressed satisfaction that the court had taken a tough stance.
McDonald’s are reported as saying that it only hired workers above school-leaving age and that the franchisee in Camberley, (Kevin Izatt,) had been told to stop employing children under school-leaving age.
The statement said: “We expect our franchisees and managers to maintain the highest standards in all restaurants. We are deeply disappointed that this was not the case in this instance.”
