Federal court hears some staff averaged shifts of 11 hours – above the award limit of nine-hour days
The joint trial has been brought by the Fair Work Ombudsman and two class action claimants against the two supermarkets.In his opening address, Fair Work Ombudsman barrister Justin Bourke KC argued the “entirely foreign” payment structure covering some workers would always “end badly for Woolworths and“It was like trying to put a square peg into a round hole,” Bourke told the court.
He took Justice Nye Perram through the relevant award that capped work hours at a total of nine a day, before arguing that was not what happened in reality. In an “extreme” example, Bourke said one team manager in Sydney was working 13 hours a day, an extra four hours beyond the award limit. Other workers were doing average shifts of nearly 11 hours, he said.He said evidence would show clear standards had to be met by the companies and that there was tacit approval of the alleged illegal conduct.
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