Victoria’s wage enforcement agency charges Woolworths for underpaying ex-employees

(Reuters) -The wage law enforcement agency of the Australian state of Victoria on Wednesday said it has filed more than 1,000 charges against top grocer Woolworths Group, alleging failure to pay A$1 million ($659,000) in long-service leave to over 1,200 former employees.

The Wage Inspectorate Victoria (WIV) said that between 2018 and 2021, Woolworths did not pay more than A$960,000 in long-service leave entitlements to 1,199 former employees.

The agency added that the company’s unit Woolstar also failed to pay more than A$45,000 in long-service leave entitlements to 36 former employees during the same period.

“Victorians expect businesses with significant payroll resources to get this stuff right. They’d be disappointed to see a household name facing underpayment allegations,” Robert Hortle, the commissioner of Wage Inspectorate Victoria said.

A spokesperson for Woolworths told Reuters that the grocer self-reported the underpayment issue to the agency in February last year.

Under the Victoria Long Service Leave Act 2018, employees who have worked continuously with one employer for at least seven years are provided long-service leave.

Woolworths, which has been facing lawsuits and civil proceedings for underpaying its workers, has been struggling to resolve the issues since 2019.

The Wage Inspectorate Victoria has filed similar charges against telecom giant Optus, brokerage firm Commsec and lender Bankwest.

($1 = 1.5175 Australian dollars)