Woolworths To Pay Compensation To Every Impacted Worker Represented by RAFFWU

Landmark Outcome In RAFFWU Lawsuit Against Woolworths Regarding Overnight Work Changes in 2021

 On 21 April 2021, at the height of the pandemic, Woolworths notified around 1500 overnight workers in the dead of night that they would radically change their hours from overnight to day or evening work. Many workers disputed the changes and in July 2021 a large group of RAFFWU members refused to change rosters and kept turning up to their old shifts. In response, Woolworths sent them home and threatened not to pay them.

On 4 December 2023, RAFFWU commenced litigation against Woolworths alleging the true reasons for changing shifts were unlawful and that threats of no pay were unlawful coercion.

In July 2025 RAFFWU reached a satisfactory conclusion to the case with Woolworths. That outcome includes that Woolworths has agreed to pay compensation to impacted team members who were represented by RAFFWU.

The agreed communication between Woolworths and RAFFWU is below.

While this matter has now resolved, it has never been clearer that Woolworths workers are better off in a fighting union. Workers can join RAFFWU easily at www.raffwu.org.au/join

All media enquiries can be directed to Josh Cullinan on 0416 241 763 or jcullinan@raffwu.org.au

Woolworths Agreed Communication

From April 2021, we undertook a roster change process with our team members in stores throughout Victoria and Tasmania to align the hours of grocery fill with those in our stores in other States and Territories in Australia.

This involved proposing to change the standard rosters for approximately 1,500 team members who performed night work, so as to instead have their work finish by around 11pm.

Woolworths acknowledges that the proposed change would have impacted each team member and, for some, had the potential to have a significant impact.

Woolworths also acknowledges that some features of the consultation process were less than ideal. We are committed to ensuring that future consultation processes are thorough and conducted in accordance with both our values and our legal obligations.

When the roster changes were implemented by Woolworths in July 2021, a number of team members wanted to work their old rosters while they disputed the introduction of their new rosters. These team members were asked to return home unless they were working in accordance with their new roster. Woolworths also made clear to those workers they would not be paid while they did not work their new roster. Woolworths acknowledges that this negatively impacted those team members.

The Retail and Fast Food Workers Union Incorporated (RAFFWU) and two of those impacted team members commenced an action in the Federal Court of Australia in 2023 relating to the events of 2021. That action has been resolved without admission of liability by Woolworths. However, as part of the settlement of the action, Woolworths has agreed to pay compensation to impacted team members who were represented by RAFFWU.

Woolworths is committed to continuous improvement of its practices and procedures, and ensuring that similar situations do not occur in the future.