Advertisement

Updated February 18th, 2020 at 11:46 IST

Coles admits underpaying managers, sets aside $20M for repayments

Supermarket giant Coles is reportedly caught up in an underpayment scandal as the company is now expecting a $20 million hit after underpaying managers.

Reported by: Bhavya Sukheja
Coles
| Image:self
Advertisement

Supermarket giant Coles is reportedly caught up in an underpayment scandal as the company is now expecting a $20 million hit after underpaying managers at its supermarket and liquor division over the past six years. According to international media reports, the company admitted to underpaying their staff and said that it was reviewing arrangements for staff who were paid a salary under the General Retail Industry Award (GRIA). The company further reported that so far they have found about five per cent of supermarket and liquor store managers who were not paid correctly. 

Chief executive Steven Cain reportedly also apologised to affected staff and said that they would be contacted once the review was finalised. He further added that the company is working with a team of external experts to finalise the review and once completed, the staff, both current and former, will be contacted by the company to remediate any identified differences in full. Furthermore, the Fair Work Ombudsman will be conducting an investigation into the Coles Group. 

READ: UK Government Adviser Quits Amid Furor Over Comments On IQ, Race

'Incredibly disappointing'

According to international media reports, Federal Attorney-General Christian Porter described the case as 'incredibly disappointing'. He also released a discussion paper which will look at the options to tackle worker underpayments. The paper also raised the prospect of adverse publicity orders which could further require an employer to display a notice admitting to underpaying workers. 

READ: China: Beijing Auto Show Postponed Amid Deadly Coronavirus Fear

The paper also suggests that the company directors could be disqualified from holding office and businesses that fail to prevent wage theft banned from hiring migrant workers. According to reports, Porter also noted that the vast majority of underpayments were not deliberate, however, he said that the issue was incredibly serious and bordered on negligence in the case of big companies that should be capable of following workplace law. 

Back in October 2019, Coles' rival Woolswroths also reportedly underpaid its employees by as much as $300 million. The ABC, Qantas, Super Retail Group, Bunnings, Rockpool Dining Group and Sunglass Hut are also among the entities that have reportedly admitted wage underpayment recently. 

READ: Samsung Offers Door-step Phone Delivery In South Korea Amid Coronavirus Fear

READ: WHO Warns Against Novel Coronavirus 'blanket Measures'

Advertisement

Published February 18th, 2020 at 11:46 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending Quicks

Elon Musk announces successful Neuralink brain chip implant in human recipient amidst controversy
2 minutes ago
Congress Press Conference
7 minutes ago
Allu Arjun
7 minutes ago
Kia Motors
9 minutes ago
Mushfiqul Fazal Ansarey: ‘Anti-India’ Bangladesh Journalist Who Questioned US, UN on Arvind Kejriwal
18 minutes ago
Mastering NDA Preparation: The Importance of Effective Revision Strategies and Organized Study Materials
20 minutes ago
Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli
22 minutes ago
Virat Kohli's text to RCB owners got WPL team to unbox event
25 minutes ago
Pakistan and the IMF agree on a $1.1 billion disbursement for the debt-ridden economy.
25 minutes ago
Patna Shuklla poster
27 minutes ago
Millet
29 minutes ago
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo