Salaried managers have filed a class action against Kmart alleging that the retail giant systematically underpaid and overworked them to save costs.
Adero Law lodged the lawsuit against Kmart with the Federal Court on Tuesday with former manager Jordana Williamson leading the complainants.
Ms Williamson began working as a salaried manager in February 2019 at Kmart stores around Brisbane.
She alleges she had to work before and after her shift in order to finish her daily tasks and complete leftover administrative work at home.
Despite putting in up to 60 hours during busy weeks, Ms Williamson claims she was not paid overtime or given other compensation as required under the Fair Work Act.
Documents seen by Daily Mail show the class action extends to all full-time salaried managers who worked in Kmart stores in the last six years. It does not include workers who were casual or on hourly rates.
‘Allegations include that managers were routinely required to perform work beyond their rostered and paid hours without receiving overtime, penalty rates or prescribed allowances,’ Adero Law alleged in a press release.
‘It is further alleged that managers were required to perform pre-shift and post-shift work, work through meal and rest breaks and undertake work outside rostered hours.’
Salaried managers who worked for Kmart in the last five years have filed a class action against the retail giant
It’s alleged Kmart systematically overworked its salaried managers without paying them overtime or other awards as outlined by the Fair Work Act
The allegations have not been proven and Kmart has not yet filed a defence.
The action against Kmart follows a Federal Court ruling in September 2025 that found Coles and Woolworths had unlawfully relied on annualised salaries without properly keeping track of the actual hours staff worked or awarding overtime.
‘Kmart joins a growing list of Australia’s retail giants that allegedly chose, year after year, to look the other way,’ Adero Law said.
‘In these multi-billion dollar businesses, the inability to tell when a manager starts or finishes their shift isn’t an administrative oversight.
‘This claim alleges that Kmart’s business model was predicated on strategic ignorance of actual hours worked by managers.’
The law firm highlighted how Kmart utilises impressive technology to track its inventory, but was allegedly unable to keep track of the actual hours its staff worked.
‘The workers at the heart of this claim aren’t asking for a windfall, they are simply asking for award-minimum wages for the time they actually worked,’ Adero Law alleged.
‘What we see across Coles, Woolworths and now Kmart is the completion of a trifecta of Australia’s three largest private sector employers.
Adero Law, the firm representing the complainants, claimed Kmart sought to save costs by putting more work on salaried staff
‘All of whom are sophisticated enterprises with world-leading technology available to track inventory and sales but who seemingly became ‘blind’ when it comes to tracking actual hours of work by their own employees.
‘This blindness has a dollar value and for too long it has been subsidised by the very people who can least afford it.’
A Kmart spokesperson told Daily Mail: ‘Kmart is committed to its team members being paid correctly for the work they perform.
‘As this matter is before the court and we have not yet had an opportunity to review the claims, it is not appropriate for us to comment at this time,’ the spokesperson said.
