Woolworths in hot water for allegedly underpaying staff’s long service leave
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When it comes to money, any mistakes or discrepancies can be really frustrating, and people tend to demand justice when they see unfairness. Recently, a well-known company made headlines for allegedly failing to give its employees their rightful entitlements.
According to Wage Inspectorate Victoria, Woolworths is charged of underpaying more than $1 million in long service leave to 1235 former employees. These alleged underpayments ranged from $250 to an alarming $12,000+ for each individual.
Victorian law states that employees with over seven years of continuous service with one employer should receive their unused long-service leave payout when they leave the company.
Woolworths confirmed they self-reported the matter in February 2022 after an internal payroll audit.
'We have since made back payments or corrected leave balances to affected team members, including interest and superannuation,' a representative said.
'We have apologised to affected team members and strengthened our payroll systems to address the long service leave issues we identified.'
This case has surprised many as it involves a reputable company like Woolworths, but it highlights the importance of complying with employment laws and ensuring that employees receive what they are entitled to.
The Wage Inspectorate has also charged Optus, CommSec and BankWest with similar breaches of Victorian state law.
It's not the first time Woolworths has fallen foul of wage laws and earned itself the ire of the public.
In 2020, the company admitted to underpaying over 5700 salaried store staff for nearly a decade. This happened because they didn't consider the actual number of hours worked and the specific times of those hours when determining individual salaries.
The then-chairman of Woolworths, Gordon Cairns, offered an apology for the scandal involving the underpayment of staff wages, which amounted to a staggering $500 million.
He pointed out that part of the problem lies with the 'out of control' industrial award system, implying that the complexity of the existing rules contributed to the issue.
In February, Woolworths announced its half-yearly performance results, revealing a significant increase in profits. Despite this positive financial performance, customers have experienced a notable rise in grocery prices due to the ongoing inflation surge.
During the first half of the 2022/23 financial year, Woolworths Group, which includes supermarkets, Metro stores, and BIG W, recorded a total sales figure of $33.2 billion. This represents a 4% growth compared to the previous financial year.
The company's total profits amounted to $907 million, indicating a notable 14% increase from the previous year's earnings.
'Our first half result benefitted from a focus on improving our customer shopping experience, restoring our operating rhythm, the non-recurrence of material COVID costs in the prior year and strong seasonal trading,' said CEO Brad Banducci.
'Despite continued supply chain challenges during the half, most customer metrics improved. Cost-of-living pressures are being felt by our customers due to industry-wide inflation, and helping all our customers get their Woolies worth remains our number one priority.'
Members, we value your opinions. Please share your thoughts on this story in the comments section below!
According to Wage Inspectorate Victoria, Woolworths is charged of underpaying more than $1 million in long service leave to 1235 former employees. These alleged underpayments ranged from $250 to an alarming $12,000+ for each individual.
Victorian law states that employees with over seven years of continuous service with one employer should receive their unused long-service leave payout when they leave the company.
Woolworths confirmed they self-reported the matter in February 2022 after an internal payroll audit.
'We have since made back payments or corrected leave balances to affected team members, including interest and superannuation,' a representative said.
'We have apologised to affected team members and strengthened our payroll systems to address the long service leave issues we identified.'
Woolworths faces more fines related to payroll errors, with Wage Inspectorate Victoria alleging the supermarket giant underpaid more than $1 million in long service leave to 1235 former employees. Credit: Shutterstock.
This case has surprised many as it involves a reputable company like Woolworths, but it highlights the importance of complying with employment laws and ensuring that employees receive what they are entitled to.
The Wage Inspectorate has also charged Optus, CommSec and BankWest with similar breaches of Victorian state law.
It's not the first time Woolworths has fallen foul of wage laws and earned itself the ire of the public.
In 2020, the company admitted to underpaying over 5700 salaried store staff for nearly a decade. This happened because they didn't consider the actual number of hours worked and the specific times of those hours when determining individual salaries.
The then-chairman of Woolworths, Gordon Cairns, offered an apology for the scandal involving the underpayment of staff wages, which amounted to a staggering $500 million.
He pointed out that part of the problem lies with the 'out of control' industrial award system, implying that the complexity of the existing rules contributed to the issue.
In February, Woolworths announced its half-yearly performance results, revealing a significant increase in profits. Despite this positive financial performance, customers have experienced a notable rise in grocery prices due to the ongoing inflation surge.
During the first half of the 2022/23 financial year, Woolworths Group, which includes supermarkets, Metro stores, and BIG W, recorded a total sales figure of $33.2 billion. This represents a 4% growth compared to the previous financial year.
The company's total profits amounted to $907 million, indicating a notable 14% increase from the previous year's earnings.
'Our first half result benefitted from a focus on improving our customer shopping experience, restoring our operating rhythm, the non-recurrence of material COVID costs in the prior year and strong seasonal trading,' said CEO Brad Banducci.
'Despite continued supply chain challenges during the half, most customer metrics improved. Cost-of-living pressures are being felt by our customers due to industry-wide inflation, and helping all our customers get their Woolies worth remains our number one priority.'
Members, we value your opinions. Please share your thoughts on this story in the comments section below!
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