Your Commission Statement Is a Workplace Audit Waiting to Happen
The $1 billion Woolworths underpayment scandal isn't just about retail workers—it's coming for your sales comp next.
Woolworths and Coles just copped a $1 billion underpayment bill. Four class actions are targeting sales and marketing companies for sham contracting. The Federal Court is done messing around.
And your commission structure? It probably wouldn't survive the same scrutiny.
Here's what most ANZ sales professionals don't realise: those "contractor" SDR roles, the commission clawbacks buried in employment contracts, the unpaid training periods that somehow last three months—they're all sitting in the same grey zone that just cost supermarkets a billion dollars.
The pattern is clear:
- Retail thought award complexity would protect them. Wrong.
- Marketing companies thought contractor arrangements would shield them. Also wrong.
- Sales orgs think commission structures are too complicated to audit. They're about to find out.
The Federal Court isn't stopping at retail. They've set precedent. Class action lawyers now have a roadmap. Every sales team with dodgy comp structures, every startup treating SDRs as contractors to dodge super, every scale-up clawing back commission on deals that close after termination—you're on the list.
What this means for your career:
If you're looking at roles, audit the commission plan like your super depends on it. Because it does. Ask about:
- Super on commission (legally required, often "forgotten")
- Commission clawbacks (probably unenforceable)
- Contractor vs employee status (if you have set hours, you're an employee)
- Unpaid "training" periods (wage theft with extra steps)
If you're currently employed, check your last three pay slips. Compare them to your contract. If something feels off, it probably is. The Fair Work Ombudsman has a free tool. Use it.
The companies that survive this aren't the ones with the best lawyers. They're the ones paying correctly from day one. When you're evaluating offers, that boring compliance stuff isn't red tape—it's the only thing standing between you and a remediation payment that takes years to arrive.
Woolworths had $330 million in "accidental" underpayments. Your startup's "we'll figure out super later" approach isn't creative growth strategy. It's evidence.
The audit wave is coming. Make sure you're not the one funding it.