2 December 2021

Coles has been hit with legal action for allegedly underpaying thousands of employees more than $115 million in just three years, dramatically more than the estimated $15 million the retailer had admitted to.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has accused Coles in the Federal Court of significantly underestimating its underpayments of staff when it disclosed to the ASX last year it was reviewing the pay of employees in its liquor and supermarket businesses.

The watchdog, which is seeking backpay and penalties, alleges Coles underpaid 7812 employees $115.2 million between January 2017 and March 2020.

[...]

Coles released a statement to the ASX [...] saying it had incurred $13 million in remediation costs, including superannuation and interest, and had provisioned another $12 million in its most recent accounts.

“Coles is currently reviewing the proceedings, which include issues relating to the interpretation and application of various provisions of the general retail industry award and to the extent that further remediation may be required, we will update the market accordingly,” the statement said.

FWO Sandra Parker said large employers needed to ensure remediation programs were undertaken correctly.

[...]