Woolworths facing hefty fines after breaching Anzac Day trading restrictions in NSW

UH OH. This humble chicken label could turn into a $2.5 million headache for Woolies after a very sneaky Anzac Day move.

EXCLUSIVE

WOOLWORTHS’ sneaky headstart on roast chooks will have Gladys crying fowl.

Customers walking into Woolworths stores just after lunch on Anzac Day would have found freshly baked bread, hot roast chickens and fully stocked deli and seafood displays.

But the supermarket giant could be facing more than $2.5 million in fines for breaches of strict Anzac Day trading restrictions in New South Wales, news.com.au can reveal.

Woolworths stores across the state allowed staff into stores as early as 9:00am on Monday to receive deliveries, cook chickens, prepare seafood and bake bread, in apparent defiance of a direct order from NSW Industrial Relations Minister Gladys Berejiklian.

Under NSW law, Anzac Day is classified as a restricted trading day, with large retailers including Coles, Aldi and Woolworths not permitted to open before 1:00pm.

In previous years, the NSW government would allow IR inspectors to use “common sense” and allow businesses to prepare for trade by letting staff in early, but that allowance was dropped this year by Ms Berejiklian.

Legislating for setup time was proposed as part of the Boxing Day trade amendments late last year, but was not agreed to by all parties and subsequently removed from the negotiations.

Retailers were informed of the decision several weeks ago, meaning staff were not legally allowed to enter premises before 1:00pm this year.

Engadine: Fresh chooks on display.

Engadine: Time-stamped 11:44am.

Engadine: Sushi prepared at 10:00am.

Casula: Fresh baked bread at 1:00pm.

Casula: Seafood displays ready at 1:00pm.

Richmond: Baked at 12:47pm.

Under the NSW Retail Trading Act 2008, a shop is in breach of trading restrictions if “orders for goods were received by a person in attendance at the shop” or “goods were received, or unpacked or otherwise prepared, at the shop for sale at the shop”.

The laws are intended to prevent stores from gaining an unfair advantage over their competitors.

Customers snapped pictures of BBQ chickens time-stamped as early as 10:50am and bread rolls labelled before 12:49pm. News.com.au understands others were told by sushi team members the sushi was prepared at 10:00am.

Breaches carry maximum penalties of $11,000 per store. Woolworths has 250 stores in New South Wales, meaning if every store is found to have breached trading restrictions, the total penalties could be as high as $2.75 million.

A maximum $11,000 penalty also applies if any team member was coerced into working.

In one recent case, a Supa IGA in Appin was fined $1700 for opening on restricted trading days Good Friday and Easter Sunday and advertising that they were open.

“Any alleged breaches will be investigated by NSW Industrial Relations inspectors,” Ms Berejiklian said.

In a statement, a Woolworths spokeswoman said: “Clear direction was given to stores that volunteer salaried managers were allowed to enter and undertake certain limited preparations for opening at 1:00pm.

“This is in line with the NSW regulations. We were keen to ensure our customers’ shopping experience today, as on all days, met their expectations.”

Last year, Woolworths was forced to apologise for its disastrous ‘Fresh In Our Memories’ Anzac Day social media campaign.

In a statement, a Coles spokesman said: “While our stores in NSW were allowed to open from 1:00pm on Anzac Day, the NSW government would not allow our team members into stores before we opened so that we could prepare for our customers.

“Unfortunately this meant that some products including roast chickens and store-baked bread were not available for a few hours after our NSW stores had opened.

“We apologised to our customers for the inconvenience and our team worked hard through the afternoon to deliver our full product range.”

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