The Fair Work Ombudsman is taking Coles
(ASX:COL) to court alleging the supermarket giant underpaid 7,800 staff last year by $115 million. The claim alleged that underpayments happened between 1 January 2017 and 31 March 2020 for staff who worked in regional and metropolitan areas across the nation as they worked extra hours than they were contracted.
The national wages watchdog started legal action last year after Coles initiated a review into pay arrangements for salaried employees that fall under the retail industry award.
Coles has apologised to affected team members and conducted a remediation program which comes to $13 million paid to affected staff, with a further $12 million provisioned in its most recent accounts.
Shares in Coles
(ASX:COL) are trading 0.6 per cent lower at $17.63.
