Workplace relations

Almost 87 per cent of our workforce is covered by collective agreements. Agreements typically provide for consultation arrangements relating to significant operational changes. We recognise the right of our team members to negotiate collectively, with or without the involvement of third parties. We also believe in parties entering good faith collective bargaining to achieve a mutually beneficial outcome.

The Wesfarmers retail divisions continued to support team members requiring leave associated with COVID-19. Types of support for team members included: 

paid pandemic leave for team members required to self-isolate or quarantine
no loss of pay for team members deemed high risk due to their age or an existing medical condition and therefore unable to work
discretionary payment to those permanent team members who required leave if sick leave was exhausted
paid time off for the purposes of being vaccinated
additional discretionary payments to ensure team members who may have been stood down during lockdown periods in Victoria did not suffer a loss of pay for rostered hours where retail divisions were unable to provide them with work.

In the 2021 financial year, Wesfarmers and its divisions did not receive material government support payments and was not part of the Australian Government’s JobKeeper program.

Bunnings

Bunnings provides a range of entitlements and benefits within its enterprise/collective agreements and workplace policies to attract and retain the best team. Bunnings recognises the importance of implementing proactive measures that promote an inclusive and respectful workplace.

Bunnings has 10 enterprise/collective agreements across Australia and New Zealand covering team members in stores, trade centres, distribution centres and frame and truss sites. Regardless of the status of the agreements, whether in term, under negotiation or expired, Bunnings regularly reviews the applicable entitlements and rostering mechanisms to ensure they meet the demands of a high performing and flexible workforce. Recent improvements to Bunnings’ policies include:

team members in Australia and New Zealand can access up to 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave per annum
paid parental leave of up to 12 weeks (in addition to government funded leave), as well as paid superannuation and long service leave accruals on unpaid parental leave periods (up to 52 weeks).

In August 2020, Bunnings provided its highest ever annual bonus to store team members in recognition of their tremendous efforts serving local communities during COVID-19. In addition, between July 2020 and March 2021, Bunnings incurred costs of more than $1.7 million in Australia to provide full pay to team members requiring leave associated with COVID-19. This included team members deemed high risk due to their age or an existing medical condition, those required to self-isolate due to close contact with cases, those who required special leave if sick leave was exhausted and some additional discretionary payments during the Stage 4 lockdown in Victoria. Bunnings was not part of the Australian Government’s JobKeeper program.

Kmart Group

Kmart

In the 2021 financial year, The Kmart New Zealand Collective Agreement was renegotiated, which covers Kmart stores and the Kmart Wiri distribution centre in New Zealand. The Agreement provides an average increase of 3.3 per cent. The Service Assistant hourly rate has increased by 4.3 per cent to NZ$22.10.

In Australia, more than 23,000 existing team members were paid a wage increase of 1.7 per cent under the Kmart Australia Ltd Agreement 2018. This Enterprise Agreement applies to weekly paid team members employed in Kmart stores across Australia.

Kmart also converted more than 90 Target and Target Country stores to Kmart and K hub stores. Following the issuing of a Section 318 Order by the Fair Work Commission, more than 2,400 Target team members transferred to Kmart and are now being paid under the Kmart Australia Ltd Agreement 2018, which overall provides more beneficial terms of conditions of employment. Kmart also hired over 3,800 new team members to work in the converted stores, with over 750 new team members being hired in regional and remote areas.

Target

In the 2021 financial year, the Target Australia Queensland Distribution Centre Agreement 2020 was approved by the Fair Work Commission for a three-year term to 6 August 2023. The Enterprise Agreement provided the following benefits to Target team members:

increases of two per cent per annum (six per cent in total) to wage rates and allowances
two weeks unpaid pandemic leave
an increase in the compassionate leave entitlement from three to five days
two days paid domestic and family violence leave.

Catch

In the Catch Fulfilment Centre in Victoria, team members covered by the Storage Services and Wholesale Award 2020 received a wage increase of more than 1.7 per cent to their existing base hourly rate of pay in the 2021 financial year.

Officeworks

In the 2021 financial year, the Officeworks Customer Fulfilment Centre Agreement 2020 was approved by the Fair Work Commission. The Agreement came into effect from 25 February 2020 with a nominal expiry of 1 September 2024. Team members across the Customer Fulfilment Centres overwhelmingly supported the Agreement with 87 per cent of the workforce participating and 91 per cent voting in favour of the new Agreement. This Agreement ensures there is wage certainty with a two per cent wage increase each year for four years as well as access to two days paid domestic and family violence leave.

WesCEF

WesCEF continually monitors its compliance with the Fair Work Act 2009 to safeguard its positive relationship with team members and to minimise industrial issues and risks.

Throughout the 2021 financial year, WesCEF focused on greater transparency and governance over the recording of hours by relevant parts of its workforce.

A new Hours of Work Policy was developed, which sets out WesCEF’s expectations around how hours of work can be managed and recorded to ensure legal requirements are met.

Protecting the workforce during challenging times like COVID-19 is also part WesCEF’s efforts to maintain a trusted relationship with its team members.

Key COVID-19 safety measures introduced include restricting non-operational employees on production sites, the segregation of shifts, the provision of additional crib facilities for contractors and additional supply and usage of face masks.

A COVID-19 related employee survey showed employee confidence in the company’s response was 93 per cent favourable and the business received a 99 per cent favourable response from participants who felt they knew what they needed to do to keep themselves safe and healthy.

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