In the latest announcement related to the underpayment problem, Supermarket giant Woolworths has revised underpayment dues to about $315mn. The company revealed in its half-year results the numbers “are not final due to the complex analysis required”. While a class action has been filed against Woolworths, Law firm Adero Law has estimated the underpayment bill could be above $600mn!
Competitor Coles also stated it has underpaid staff and estimates about $20mn to be paid back to about 5 per cent of its workforce. This was revealed as part of the half-year earnings which was flat anyway.
Wesfarmers group, a major shareholder of Coles has also acknowledged underpayment at Target and Bunnings. The conglomerate has set aside about $9mn to repay taking the total to about $30mn. Another retailer Super Retail Group said the group’s underpayment total over the past eight years is about $60 million.
While the retail giants have committed to taking corrective measures, is this really a case of software problem as some industry leaders would like us to believe?
Blaming technology or software didn’t cut ice with the tech professionals ITVibes spoke to. The techies thought it was akin to a batsman blaming bat for not scoring runs. They opined Software as-is may not readily interpret Australian awards but the accountability and ownership of delivering to business and legal requirements rests with the enterprise – irrespective of whether the root cause is a software or configuration problem.
While the industry leaders investigate and fix the problem, it is apt to ask if there is a deeper problem with digital transformation projects or technology implementations? Is this a symptom of the deeper malaise (if any)?
Here’s a partial list of key Australian businesses that have acknowledged underpayment in 2019
- ABC: Leading broadcaster ABC admitted that they may have been underpaying around 2,500 casual staff over the last six years
- Qantas: Although not a (relatively) large scale problem, Qantas admitted to underpaying about 55 staff members by an average of $8,000 over several years.
- Super Retail Group: Underpayment total over the past eight years is estimated to be about $60 million.
- Commonwealth Bank: Underpayment to over 8,000 staff totalling up to $15mn
- MAdE Establishment: Star chef and entrepreneur George Calombaris paid over $7.8 million in wages and superannuation. Over 500 employees were affected during this period.
- Woolworths: With the latest addition of $15mn, the total estimated payment Woolworths owes to staff is $315 million.
More to come
