Retailing conglomerate Super Retail Group has become the third major retailer to announce staff underpayments in the last three days, revealing on Thursday it has underpaid store managers and team members by $8 million more than it originally estimated.
The company – which owns Rebel Sport, Supercheap Auto, Macpac and BCF – has a track record for underpayments, announcing early last year it had underpaid some of its store managers $32 million.
Super Retail Group, the owner of Supercheap Auto, has announced an additional $8 million in underpayments.
On Thursday morning it updated those estimates, telling investors alongside its half-year results that it had identified additional expenses relating to its underpayment remediation.
While the total number of affected workers was lower than estimated last year, Super Retail said as part of its investigation it had found "additional team members also impacted by overtime underpayments".
The latest revelation bumps the total cost for Super Retail's staff underpayments to $61.2 million, adding to the millions of dollars it had underpaid team members last year, which triggered the early departure of chief executive Peter Birtles.
Super Retail's admission makes it the third major Australian retailer to announce major underpayments this week, with Coles and Wesfarmers-owned Target also embroiled in wage scandals.
It follows supermarket giant Woolworths' mammoth $300 million staff underpayment announced last year. The SDA union on Wednesday labelled the continued underpayments a "full-blown epidemic".
More to come..
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