The Fair Work Ombudsman has filed proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia against Super Retail, after the company underpaid workers over $50 million.
The Group self-reported this 2018 breach to the FWO and “apologised to affected team members,” according to a notice the company filed with the ASX.
The breach involves work undertaken between January 2017 and March 2019 by members of the company’s ‘Set Up’ team, who were “not paid in compliance with the appropriate modern award”.
Super Retail Group have since back paid more than $52.7 million in entitlements and interest to both current and former team members.
“We note the allegations in the proceedings and reiterate our view that this matter represents a regrettable chapter in our company’s history,” Super Retail Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Anthony Heraghty (below) said.
“It is unacceptable and contrary to the company’s values for any team member not to be paid correctly.
“We are sorry for the impact on our team members and today we restate our unreserved apology to each person affected.
“Since 2018 we have changed our processes to fix the issues and help to ensure team members are being paid correctly.
“We have effectively completed our detailed remediation process to back pay affected team members and have fully cooperated with the Fair Work Ombudsman’s investigation.”
The FWO is questioning how the $52.7 million figure was arrived at, claiming a discrepancy of approximately $1.14 million.
“The breaches alleged in this case – inadequate annual salaries for employees stretching across multiple years – have become a persistent issue for businesses across many industries,” Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said.
“Every employer should be clear that if annual salaries do not cover all minimum lawful entitlements for all hours actually worked, the results can be substantial back-payment bills, plus the risk of significant court-ordered penalties.
“Penalties can also be higher for serious contraventions.”
