End to Godfreys deal paying $160 a week under the award

Hundreds of workers at appliance retailer Godfreys are to receive big pay rises after an under-award deal was terminated.

Hundreds of workers at appliance retailer Godfreys are to receive substantial pay rises after the Fair Work Commission rejected the company’s opposition and termin­ated a nine-year-old, non-union enterprise agreement contain­ing pay rates significantly below the award minimum.

The 2009 agreement, covering 312 of the 539 workers across 220 stores, last provided for a pay rise in 2011, contained wage rates $160 a week below the award, and casual loadings as low as 15 per cent compared with the award standard of 25 per cent.

The shop assistants’ union told the commission the agreement, which expired in 2012, provided for wage rates ranging from $602.68 for level 1 employees to $686 for level 4 employees, compared with the award, which provided for wages of $763.20 for level 1 to $842.30 for level 5 employ­ees.

But Godfreys said the company’s commission scheme along with the agreement allowed workers to be paid in excess of the award, and commissions paid to employees would be reduced if labou­r costs increased due to the agreement being terminated.

The commission heard the avera­ge weekly commission earned by the employees was about $85, which was not enough to address the pay gap between the agreement and the award.

The union was not covered by the agreement but represented the employee applying to terminate the substandard deal.

Two employees provided statements to the commission, with one giving evidence that “I have seen no increase in our pay at any time”. “We have an agreement that is nine years old and tota­lly unacceptable and out of date,’’ the employee said. “The wages we are paid fall so far behin­d the award, it is not funny.”

The worker said the agreement allowed for staff to be employe­d for seven days straight, and work alone in stores with ­little or no chance for a break.

A second employee said “more and more staff” were working alone, with Godfreys sending emails “implying that staff cannot close the store for lunch breaks or normal breaks when working alone”.

“We are all required to work weekends and most companies get some sort of penalty for it,’’ the worker said. “We are promised commission for the time spent, yet we could also receive none.”

Godfreys argued that termin­ating the deal would likely increas­e its costs, due to higher wages. It said higher costs would impact on its commercial viability in circumstances where the company was already seeking to ­address decreases in profitability.

Commission deputy president Richard Clancy found company evidence about high commissions earned by five employees was “lacking in probative value”.

He said Godfreys’ evidence had left him “somewhat uncertain” about the impact termin­ation would have on the workers.

But he said the company would adjust if the agreement was terminated and the commission scheme would continue.