Australian Supermarkets Face Millions in Staff Underpayment Costs — Update

By Stuart Condie

SYDNEY--Australia's two largest supermarket operators could have to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in remediation and other costs following their failure to properly pay staff.

Last week, an Australian court said that Woolworths and Coles, which dominate the country's grocery industry, should have recorded the overtime worked by thousands of managers who were allegedly underpaid from 2013.

Failing to properly record hours can mean workers fail to accrue additional payments, such as for working weekends or overnight.

Woolworths on Monday said its very preliminary assessment of an Australian court ruling was that it could be liable for between 180 million and 330 million Australian dollars, equivalent to between US$118 million and US$216 million, in post-tax remediation to underpaid staff.

Interest, superannuation, and payroll tax could add another A$140 million-A$200 million to the tally, it said.

"Further detailed review and modelling of team-member records and consideration of the court's decision is required to determine the full financial impact," Woolworths said.

Coles estimated its liability at between A$150 million and A$250 million, including interest and costs.

Woolworths has been dealing with the issue for several years. It said its latest estimate included further remediation related to historical underpayments from 2013 to 2019, and the impact of the court ruling related to issues from 2019 to 2025.

The ASX-listed company said it would update the market no later than February, when it is due to report its fiscal first-half results.

Write to Stuart Condie at stuart.condie@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 07, 2025 20:34 ET (00:34 GMT)