Super Retail to repay $32m in unpaid hours
REBEL Sport owner Super Retail Group is set to repay six years’ worth of unpaid overtime and allowances to retail managers in an expected $43 million pre-tax hit to firsthalf earnings.
The company, which will post its audited half-year results tomorrow, said a comprehensive review of employment arrangements across the business showed $32 million worth of overtime hours were not paid in accordance with the General Retail Industry Award over the past six years.
The Boating, Camping, Fishing owner will also recognise $11 million in compensatory interest and has apologised to affected staff members, who represent an estimated 10 per cent of the group’s workforce over the period in question.
Group managing director and chief executive Peter Birtles said he deeply regretted the situation and that the company was committed to remediation
Super Retail said the groupwide review was initiated last year following the discovery of a related breach for team members involved in Set Up projects. After identifying the issue with retail managers, Deloitte was engaged to analyse 1.9 million shifts in total.
The company will engage an independent, external accountant to identify individual underpayments and will back pay these amounts plus 5.5 per cent interest a year - an $11 million pre tax hit.
Super Retail said the issues relating to overtime and allowance back payments were historic and would not materially affect the underlying financial drivers of the business.
The company expects to post a 6 per cent lift in first-half sales to $1.4 billion when it announces its results tomorrow, with first-half earnings up 11.3 per cent to $166.2 million.