Are you paying your staff correctly? Woolworths' $200m plus remediation
Aspen Corporate • 27 November 2019

Are you paying your staff correctly? Woolworths' $200m plus remediation 

Woolworths is the latest company to face a fallout from the underpayment of staff. In what is believed to be the largest remediation of its kind, Woolworths have stated that they have underpaid 5,700 salaried team members with remediation expected to be in the range of $200m to $300m (before tax). 

The discovery was made as part of a 2 year review following the implementation of a new enterprise agreement but could have been occurring since the implementation of the modern award in 2010.

In a statement , Woolworths stated:

Annual salaries for store team members are set to cover ordinary working hours and reasonable overtime. However, team members are entitled to be paid the higher of their contractual salary entitlements, or what they otherwise would have earned for actual hours worked under the GRIA. The review has found the number of hours worked, and when they were worked, were not adequately factored into the individual salary settings for some salaried store team members.

Woolworths Group is committed to fully rectifying these payment shortfalls and an extensive plan is in place to ensure salaried team members' pay is correct and compliant moving forward.

Interim back payments will be made to affected staff identified in the initial review before Christmas. Woolworths states that full remediation will be made as soon as practicable to all other staff impacted.

We cannot stress the importance of ensuring that staff are paid at the correct rates. If staff are underpaid, it is not simply a matter of making a catch-up remediation payment. Underpayment of superannuation entitlements in particular will incur significant penalties and charges.

 

To ensure that your staff are paid at the correct rate, we suggest contacting your Aspen Corporate Advisor today to check you are applying the correct pay and conditions.

 

by Aspen Corp 2 July 2025
From 1 July 2025, ATO debt may cost you more. Two types of interest charges on Australian Taxation Office (ATO) debt will no longer be deductible.
by Aspen Corp 2 July 2025
Division 296 super tax is the Federal Government proposal to impose an extra 15% tax on total superannuation balance earnings over $3 million.
by Aspen Corp 2 July 2025
The rise of Financial Influencers or ‘Finfluencers’ - the risks of taking advice from unqualified sources can have serious consequences.
by Aspen Corp 2 July 2025
Trust structures have been prized for asset protection and flexibility with income distributions. However, with regulatory changes and mounting administrative complexity has the shine worn off?
by Aspen Corp 2 July 2025
What does the One Big Beautiful Bill mean for Australian investors, especially super funds and small businesses with US exposure?
by Aspen Corp 17 June 2025
If you are involved with running a not for profit (NFP) organisation it is important to be aware of key obligations and requirements.
More posts