Aldi has agreed to pay $55 million to about 32,000 current and former employees to settle a large-scale class action lawsuit filed in the Federal Court by the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA Union).

Justice McElwaine approved the settlement, which requires the payments to be made by March 31, 2027. The case was first pursued by an SDA investigation in 2022, with litigation beginning in 2023.

In July, Aldi agreed to pay the settlement prior to approval in the Federal Court.

The court found the settlement warranted due to a series of underpayment offences, which included employees who performed work before and after their rostered shift start time for which they were not paid, including consequential benefits triggered by the additional time worked.

It added that Aldi warehouse workers were required to perform a range of pre-commencement tasks before their rostered shift start time for which they were not paid, including consequential benefits triggered by the additional time worked.

“The settlement provides a fair and reasonable calculation methodology to determine the actual quantum of underpayments, adds interest to the determined amounts, [and] there is no deduction for the costs of the litigation or any commission,” Justice McElwaine said.

The ruling added that a continued trial could have incurred $18 million in costs, not commencing until mid-2028.

“For too long, workers across the retail industry have been expected to undertake tasks before or after their rostered shifts without being properly compensated,” SDA national secretary Gerard Dwyer said.

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