Eudunda Farmers accused of worker underpayment and misclassification in Federal Court documents
A South Australian company that employs hundreds of workers across 20 country supermarkets has been accused of underpaying and misclassifying workers.
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A South Australian company that employs more than 350 employees in country towns has been accused of underpaying and misclassifying dozens of workers with potentially a million dollars in claims on the line.
The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association lodged formal proceedings in the Federal Court last week on behalf of 64 current and former Eudunda Farmers employees.
The company either directly runs, or has a controlling interest, in several subsidiaries that manage 20 supermarkets across regional SA.
Its stores include IGA supermarkets in Kingston SE, Gladstone and Millicent as well as Foodlands in Port Augusta, Tailem Bend, Clare, Kapunda, Pinnaroo, Robe and Tanunda.
The SDA, which represents supermarket retail workers, said it would put out a call to hundreds of current and former workers who they claimed may have been underpaid.
The statement of claim lodged with the court and seen by The Advertiser alleges widespread underpayment and the failure to comply with workplace legislation.
One of the most serious accusations is of workers performing duties at significantly higher pay grades while being kept on the lower tier of casual employment.
In one case, a worker was employed as a store manager with duties including hiring new staff, overseeing rosters, ordering stock and taking out-of-hours calls, but was contracted as a level-one employee.
The difference in pay between a level-one worker and level-eight casual worker is more than $6 an hour.
The statement of claim alleges 47 employees were misclassified with many operating forklifts, training other staff and performing specialist roles such as a butcher without being paid at their correct level.
Other claims included workers alleging they were not paid overtime or an allowance for working in the store freezers.
The SDA estimates that, if established, the underpayment claims could equate to more than $10,000 for workers employed for more than six years.
A further allegation by the SDA is that Eudunda Farmers did not inform workers of their right to have casual employment converted to permanent part-time or full-time work.
One worker mentioned in the claim had worked consistently for the company for 32 years but remained a casual employee.
SDA state secretary Josh Peak said 87 per cent of employees spoken to by the union were classified as casual despite working regular and consistent hours.
“Many are afraid to speak out due to fear of having their shifts cut,” he said.
The SDA is seeking compensation for the workers as well as interests and a court-ordered penalty for alleged breaches of the Fair Work Act.
Eudunda Farmers were contacted for comment but did not reply by time of publication.
It will have the opportunity to file a response to the SDA’s statement of claim before any hearing in the Federal Court.