Employment Disputes in Woolworth Case Study 2022

Employment Disputes in Woolworths
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Introduction
Commercial organizations are entitled to pay fair wages to the employees that work hard for
the success of the firm. Companies hire workers and experienced personnel completing the
task of the firm. They pay for the services offered by the workers. The government has laid
several policies so that the workers are not exploited in terms of overwork and underpayment.
In spite of the government regulations, many firms tend to underpay the employee for saving
cost increasing their profit margins. It has been noticed that many retail firms are often
engaged in employment disputes so as to minimize their cost structure. In this regard, the
Woolworths supermarket in Australia has been challenged in the Federal Court for the
underpayment of many employees. In this report, the employment disputes of Woolworths
and the principles of the Fair work Act 2009 will be studied.
Employment disputes
About the company
Woolworths is a well known retail chain n Australia. It operates through 995 stores and
employs approximately 115,000 individuals in distribution centers, support services and other
divisions (Woolworth Group, 2020a). The company extracts fresh fruits and other
agricultural products directly from the farmers. This helps in cost reduction while also
providing fresh farm produce to its customers. it also claims that 100% of its owned products
are made from “RSPO certified palm oil”. the company also operates through its online
applications that save time and cost of the shoppers. The company also announced its
corporate social responsibility through which the firm distributed food to approximately
18.8million needy individuals. It has also donated an amount of $44.3 million to the different
communities in Australia (Woolworth Group, 2020b).
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The company maintains goodwill amongst its customers but fails to satisfy the demands of its
salaried employee. There have been many cases against the HR practices of Woolworth. In
2014, Woolworth had to pay $5000 to Steven Willmonth and gender discrimination during
the recruitment process (Stephens, 2014). In February 2019, the company was again accused
of underpayment and had to pay approximately $300 million to more than 6000 workers
(Carey, 2020). The company had paid below the retail industry standards to the majority of
its executives. This accusation of the company has been consistent for a prolonged time
period. Thus, the company has been violating the law related to workplace practices and
recruitment and several media report was published highlighting this matter.
Principles of Fair Work Act 2009
It is the legislation that provides rules for wage rate and equality at work. It aims in providing
a balanced outline for the workplace relationships that promote economic and social
prosperity in Australia. The act provides norms for least wage entitlements, stretchy working
conditions, promotion of equality while protection of the individuals against discrimination.
The legislation was amended on April 9, 2020, while supporting the execution and process of
“job keeper scheme” in workplaces in Australia. The primary object of this act is to provide a
relevant balanced framework for the purpose of incorporating productive and cooperative
relations such that social inclusion can be included. The laws of fair work enable better
workplace relations for Australians that are flexible for businesses. This supports economic
growth and productivity for the future of the economy and considers Australia's international
labor-related obligations. The Fair Work Act includes conditions of employment, thus stating
the privileges and responsibilities of workers, employers, and firms relative to organizations.
The legislation has guidelines for enforcing the Act in many organizations. The
administration of the Act is carried by Far Work Commissions and Fair Work Ombudsman.
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The Fair Work Ombudsman resolves issues relating to legislation include the Corporation
Act 2001, Independent Contractors Act 2006, Freedom of Information Act 1982 and many
others. The entitlements of the Act are enforced under the National Employment Standard
and national minimum wage awards.
Types of Employment Disputes
It is noticed that many of the large organizations exploit their managers and, low wage
earners for curtailing down their costs. In this regard, companies often underpay their
employees. The workers are overloaded with extra work hours but no sufficient
compensation and sometimes wages are deducted on sick leaves taken by the employee.
Every company has the pressure of maintaining its costs for enhanced profit margins and
thus, many of the employees suffer due to this (Guest, 2016). There are four common types
of disputes that the company is engaged in. Firstly, unlawful terminations by the employer. In
this scenario, the employee's work is put on trial and can be terminated under the no-contract
circumstance. On the contract basis of the work, the employer holds the responsibility of not
terminating services before the completion of the mentioned time period. Termination in the
contract basis job is only done in extreme cases of theft and integrity issues. On the contrary,
the non- contract offer letter often provides the employers, rights to terminate at their will.
Thus, in this scenario, the employee work is trail and dissatisfaction on the same can lead to
terminated services.
The companies head or the supervisor dismisses the employer due to personal grudge with
that particular employee (Buchanan and Huczynski, 2019). Secondly, in the case of the
underpayment of the employee. The companies are involved in wage disputes, if the worker
is not paid for their overtime, sick leaves promised incentives or paid below the industry
norms. Thirdly, discrimination and harassment may cause disputes to the companies. In this
scenario, the employee can claim compensation if they are harassed discriminated by the
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