"Target comes forward with wage theft of $9 million, Wesfarmers reveals", 19 February 2020

Major retail group Wesfarmers has added to the humiliation of the sector's "endemic problem" of wage theft, with target staff being ripped off by $9 million.

The Perth-based conglomerate admitted to the underpayment...when reporting the company's half-year earnings.

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Wesfarmers said the latest round of wage theft was discovered after the group conducted extensive reviews of its pay records.

"Immediate steps are being taken to rectify identified issues, notify and repay affected team members, including interest, and ensure accuracy in the future through a robust program of auditing and monitoring," managing director Rob Scott said in a statement.

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The admission by Coles and Wesfarmers comes after a dismal stretch of widespread wage theft cases across retail networks, hospitality businesses and other employers.

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...Coles chief executive Steven Cain apologised to those impacted by the scandal, which related to a small group of salaried team members given a wage below the industry reward.

"We are working at pace with a team of external experts to finalise our review," he said in a statement.

"Once completed we will contact all affected team members, both current and former, to remediate any identified differences in full.

"Coles has implemented steps to improve our systems and processes."

[...]