Coles
Adero Law filed a class action against Coles in May 2020 on behalf of salaried Coles Supermarkets and Coles Services managers. The class action claims that compensation and penalties should be paid to group members who were not paid enough for the hours they worked under the General Retail Industry Award
Latest Update
We attended a case management hearing on 17 November 2025 involving four cases, being the two class actions and the two regulatory proceedings filed by the FWO against Woolworths and Coles.
The next case management hearing is listed for 20 March 2026. Before then, the parties will be preparing declarations (statements of law and fact) for the court to order, which the parties can then either appeal or accept. There will also be some declarations that are not covered by the court’s original judgment, which will provide the court with the opportunity to clarify and make new orders.
We have also filed an application to extend the claim period for existing class members in the current class action, and we are investigating filing a further class action for people who are not current class members. The purpose of these actions is to enable us to recover any losses that salaried employees may have suffered over the last 11-12 years (May/June 2014 to October 2025), rather than the current 6-year claim period (May/June 2014 to June 2020).
Please register now to receive updates.
To check your registration status, update your details with us, or ask us any questions, please email coles@aderolaw.com.au.
Class Action Coverage
You may be a group member in the Coles class action if you worked:
- in a salaried manager position
- at a supermarket operated by Coles SupermarketsÂ
- between May 2014 and June 2020
Many group members would have received a notice from the court by letter or email in February 2021. If you did not receive a notice from the court but believe you are a group member, please feel free to contact us.
We are also investigating a new class action against Coles for people who worked:
- in a salaried manager position
- at a supermarket operated by Coles SupermarketsÂ
- between May 2020 and October 2025
You can register to receive updates about the investigation.
About the Class Action
The class action was filed in May 2020 by Adero Law on behalf of Ms Pabalan, a Customer Service Manager who worked at Coles Roselands and other Coles stores in New South Wales.
Ms Pabalan alleges that the salary Coles paid to her was insufficient to satisfy her legal entitlements. Ms Pabalan claims she was working well beyond her rostered hours to keep her department running to the standard expected by Coles. Even when Kronos was introduced in late 2017, she wasn’t always able to record her hours of work accurately. Ms Pabalan started the class action to protect the interests of her former colleagues and ensure other salaried managers like her are fairly compensated for their work.