17 hours ago
Underpaid regional supermarket workers to receive $5.5m after court settlement
More than 500 current and former supermarket workers across regional South Australia will receive $5.5 million in back pay, after securing what their union describes as "one of the biggest retail underpayment settlements" in the state's history.
Tahlia Troeth, who was underpaid by Eudunda Farmers Limited (EFL) while she was employed for five years at its Kingston South East Foodland store, said the settlement was a "huge validation" for workers.
"It's just so disappointing that they (EFL) thought it was OK to treat the community that they employ like this," she said.
"[It was a] huge validation when it came through that they finally agreed that yes, this wasn't OK."
The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA) said the settlement with EFL and its subsidiaries involved more than 500 current and former workers employed across 23 regional supermarkets.
The majority of the supermarkets were part of the Foodland chain, but not all Foodland stores in South Australia have been accused of underpaying workers.
According to the union, on average, each worker will receive almost $11,000 in back pay. One worker is set to receive more than $145,000.
"It's one of the biggest retail underpayment settlements ever achieved in South Australian history," SDA South Australian secretary, Josh Peak, said.
"Workers deserve to be paid properly to start with and we weren't prepared to settle for an amount that was less than what we thought workers were owed."
The underpayment case was first brought to the Federal Court in 2021.
At the time, 64 current and former EFL employees said they had been underpaid or misclassified, and were seeking $1 million in back pay.
Mr Peak said the total owed to employees increased to about $5.5 million, as more workers joined the case.
The union argued EFL misclassified workers, incorrectly paid overtime and allowances, and breached minimum shift rules over a six-year period.
"The primary underpayment that we first uncovered related to misclassification, so workers being paid in many cases level one in the retail award when, in fact, they should have been paid level three, four or five," Mr Peak said.
"For some workers, that represented up $5 an hour that they were being paid below the legal minimum.
"It also went to the mis-payment [sic] of a range of allowances [such as] not being paid cold work allowances, not being paid the uniform allowance, or uniforms weren't being provided to them as they should be under the award."
A joint statement issued by the SDA and EFL states that after the case was brought to court, EFL reviewed workers' classification levels and increased their pay to comply with award requirements.
"Workers represented by the SDA will receive $5.5 million on top of previous back pay and ongoing pay increases to comply with the award, subject to individual workers' documents being finalised," the statement said.
Ms Troeth, who over her five-year career at Foodland rose to the position of assistant manager at the Kingston SE store, said she was paid a level three wage, when she should have been paid a level five wage.
"There was a big issue with misclassification of workers," she said.
"We also had to pay for our own uniforms, which, when uniforms are compulsory, we're not supposed to pay for them."
The former worker, who left Foodland in 2022, said the underpayment of workers was "disappointing" for the entire Kingston SE community.
"Being from a really small country town [like] Kingston SE, the Foodland is such a huge part of the town," she said.
"Most of my friends and my peers, we all worked there because it was the only place to get a job after school that you could do for a couple of hours and earn some pocket money.
"Once I was made aware of the Fair Work website and how to check my rate through the SDA union, I was just shocked at how many things I wasn't being paid for."
Mr Peak said the underpayment of workers impacted regional communities' broader economies.
"Seeing that money going back into regional communities, back into workers' pockets is significant," he said.
"We have to wonder, what family holidays were missed out on, what was sacrificed because workers weren't getting their legal minimum to start with?"
In a statement, Foodland Supermarkets CEO Franklin Dos Santos said EFL "regrets any inconvenience caused".
He said upskilling and supporting employees was a "priority" for EFL.
"As such, various roles within the business are supported by different wage classifications and award entitlements," he said.
"As with any business operation, mistakes and pay discrepancies can occur, as rightly identified in 2021 by the SDA."
Mr Dos Santos said EFL was working with its employees and the SDA to ensure that "past payment discrepancies are rectified as a priority".
"This process is now underway and will finalise within several weeks," he said.
"EFL will continue to engage and inform employees throughout.
"EFL continues to review and update all policies and procedures to ensure they are robust, consistent, and adhere to best practice standards."
