ASX 200 company hauled to court for ‘serious contraventions’

The ASX-listed company operating retail chains Rebel Sport, BCF and Super Cheap Auto is facing legal action brought on by the Fair Work Ombudsman.

The ombudsman on Friday revealed that the Federal Court would hear of “serious contraventions” under the Fair Work Act against Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL) relating to alleged underpayment of staff.

Four of Super Retail’s subsidiaries are also named in the legal action.

“The breaches alleged in this case – inadequate annual salaries for employees stretching across multiple years – have become a persistent issue for businesses,” said Fair Work ombudsman Sandra Parker.

“Every employer should be clear that if annual salaries do not cover all minimum lawful entitlements for all hours actually worked, the results can be substantial back-payment bills, plus the risk of significant court-ordered penalties.”

Some staff left $34,500 short

The court case will focus on a sample of 146 employees who were allegedly underpaid $1.14 million for work between January 2017 and March 2019.

Super Retail has actually undertaken a remediation program, but the ombudsman will state that the back payments fall short.

Some staff members have been underpaid as much as $34,500.

Super Retail chief executive Anthony Heraghty announced to the ASX that any incorrect payment of staff was “unacceptable and contrary to the company’s values”.

“We are sorry for the impact on our team members and today we restate our unreserved apology to each person affected,” he said.

“Since 2018, we have changed our processes to fix the issues and help to ensure team members are being paid correctly.”

Super Retail shares were down 0.64% in mid-morning trade Friday. The stock currently pays out a 5.6% dividend yield.

First-ever court action against holding company

Parker stated that this is the first time that court action has been taken against a holding company for the alleged sins of its subsidiaries.

“Holding companies who allegedly knew or reasonably should have known of underpayments within their group will be held to account,” she said.

“We expect that holding companies have thorough governance measures in place to promote compliance across their subsidiaries, and that they act immediately to rectify any problems found.”

The post ASX 200 company hauled to court for ‘serious contraventions’ appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Should I buy Super Retail shares following Monday’s stellar update?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Super Retail Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Super Retail Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/6BnaAjx