Smiths City ordered to pay staff for pre-work meetings

Smiths CityFurniture and appliance retailer Smiths City was ordered to pay its staff for their attendance at pre-work sales meetings without pay.

For the past 15 years, the Christchurch-based retail chain has asked its staff to attend a 15-minute sales meeting before its stores open across the country.

The Employment Court has ordered Smiths City to pay its workers as these meetings count as work and the retailer must pay its staff who attended.

The order was limited to those employees who were paid at, or near, the minimum wage.

According to Smiths City, the meetings were voluntary but said it accepted the court’s decision that the meetings constituted as work as defined by the Minimum Wage Act.

Chief executive Roy Campbell said they have now moved the sales meetings into employees’ normal working hours.

“We are complying with the Employment Court order that we conduct an audit to identify where wages have been paid below the statutory minimum,” Campbell said. “The audit is covering all current and previous employees for the last six years. We will calculate the arrears of pay below the minimum wage and reimburse any affected employees accordingly.”

 

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