August 16, 2023
Retail company Best & Less Pty Ltd has signed an enforceable undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman to back-pay some staff a total of more than $5.2 million.
In December 2020, Best & Less self-reported the underpayments after an internal review.
Staff were underpaid in regional and metropolitan areas throughout every State and Territory between 2013 and 2020.
Store managers and assistant managers were paid less than their minimum entitlements under the General Retail Industry Award 2010.
The company admitted underpaying the employees’ overtime, penalty rates, allowances and annual leave entitlements.
It also failed to keep proper records of the hours worked by store managers and assistant store managers.
Best & Less will back-pay 686 current and former employees a total of $5.21 million, plus almost $500,000 in superannuation.
Under the enforceable undertaking it must back-pay all staff by October.
Back-payments range from $4 to $42,144. The average underpayment is about $7600.
The company has 189 clothing and household linen stores throughout Australia – including an outlet in Kingaroy – plus an online platform.
