The Ultimate Pay Scale Guide For Supermarket and Big Box Retailer Jobs in Australia

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Are you working in a Supermarket at the moment or considering the possibility? Want to know the pay grade for your next promotion? Curious about what your boss gets paid?

I have pulled together the below information for reference to help in planning your Retail career. The figures are based off of publicly available Enterprise Bargaining Agreements, recruitment industry Salary Guides (Michael Page, Hays etc) and Seek job ads. Based on my own retail knowledge and experience I can also say the figures look quite typical from what I have seen. The numbers can fluctuate a lot in IGA, but for Woolworths, Coles, Big W etc they are quite accurate.

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Below is as of 2014, rates go up approx 2.2% each year. Below is assuming you are 20 years of age or older. If you are not yet 20 years of age the rate is significantly less based on your age, and reduces more for every year under 20.

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*Wages*

Casual team member: Hourly rate X hours worked

Full time team member

$730-$775 per week $38,000-$40,500 per year

Team Member In-Charge/Supervisor (usually in Service Department or Fill lead)

$780-$800 per week $40,500-$43,000 per year

Range In-Charge & Point of Sale Co-ordinator

$790-$830 per week $41,000 to $43,000 per year

Assistant Department Manager (or Department 2IC/2nd in Charge)

$805-$830 per week $42,500-$43,500 per year

Office-In-Charge

$840-$875 per week $43,500-$45,500 per year

Department Manager (Non-Salaried)

$850-$890 per week $44,000-$47,000

Duty Manager (Non-Salaried)

$870-$910 per week  $45,000-$47,500 per year

Meat Department Manager (Non-Salaried, Meat Workers Union)

$920-$960 per week $48,000-$50,000 per year

*Salaried*

Assistant Department Manager (or Department 2IC/2nd in Charge)

$44,000-$50,000 per year

Department Manager – Fruit & Veg, Dairy, Deli, Bakery, Meat, Service

$47,000-$60,000 per year $3900-$5000 per month

Duty Manager (Night Manager)

$50,000-$70,000 per year $4150-$5800 per month

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Grocery Manager (Longlife or Dry-Goods Manager)

$60,000-$75,000 per year $5000-$6250 per month

Assistant Store Manager ( or Store Support Manager, Trading Manager, Store Services Manager)

$66,000-$85,000 per year $5500-$7100 per month

Store Manager

$85,000-$130,000 per year $7100-$10,800 per month

Area Manager (Regional Manager)

$135,000-$190,000 per year $11,250-$15,800 per month

Where the role falls in the pay range will generally be based on the size of the store in terms of Annual Sales, plus the experience/current salary of the person going in to the role. Also the rates can vary slightly from state to state.

In addition to the above wages/salary, an Office Manager, Department Manager, Duty Manager, Assistant Store Manager and Store Manager will have targets to hit to get a Bonus also. For most Department Manager roles the Bonus will be a maximum of around $4,000 to $6,000, while higher positions will usually get a percentage of their annual salary as a bonus. A typical Store Manager looks to get a very nice bonus at end of year if they hit their targets, the industry standard is around 15% of their annual salary. However Salaried team members do not get paid penalty rates for working public holidays or Sundays.

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For wages, the per week and per year figures above is the minimum base amount you will earn, if you work Sundays, Public Holidays,  overnight etc, the total per week/year can be increased.

*Pro Tip* If you are on wages and about to commit to a contracted Roster, try to get as many Sundays & Mondays as possible, as most Public holidays will fall on a Monday. Sunday is generally double time and Public Holidays double time and a half.

For example;

A Department Manager on wages who works 8 hour days 2 Sundays a month and 5 public holidays a year will make approximately an extra $5800 per year!

  • $4576 for 26 shifts X 8 hours at $22 extra per hour (double time)
  • $1320 for 5 Public Holidays X 8 hours at $33 extra per hour (double time and a half)

Not too shabby at all.

*Legal Disclaimer* Above is indicative in nature and not a guarantee!

Free Retail Salary Report

Summary

A career in Retail can be lucrative if you are dedicated enough to work your way up through the different levels (Check out the Supermarket Job Position Flow chart I put together for you). You can make a career in Retail into anything you want it to be if you’re willing to work hard enough, and you can make more than enough money to well and truly live a rich life. A six figure income is no joke, and opens up a world of possibilities you probably never thought possible.

In the big Retailers, if you are good at what you do and are able to become a top performer you can move through the ranks very quickly, regardless of education or experience (or lack thereof). I speak from personal experience, as I personally worked at a major name Supermarket (starting off as a shelf stacker) and was promoted 7 times in just over 2 years, the last promotion being to the Retailer’s national head office in a $100k+ planning role. (About me)

If you’re interested in progressing your Retail career, or getting ahead in life financially in general, join The Future Rich mailing list to get exclusive posts, tactics, strategies and advice you can’t get anywhere else, from someone who has been where you are, and has done it themself.

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References:

Coles EBA wages

http://www.sdansw.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Coles-Wage-Sheet-01Jul2013.pdf

Woolworths EBA wages

www.allyours.com/media/Woolworths+Nat

ional+Supermarket+Agreement+2012.pdf

Meat Workers EBA

vic.amieu.net/files/coles_eba_2011.pdf

Big W EBA

www.sda.org.au/images/awards/

award77.pdf

Most National Retailer’s EBA agreements list

http://www.sda.org.au/awards.php?searchletter=B

Michael Page Salary Surveys

http://www.michaelpage.com.au/salary-survey/Retail/Retail%20Operations%20-%20Food%20Multiples/NSW/all

Hays Salary Guide 2013 – Retail

http://postimg.org/image/5ifrcyzbt/

Grocery Manager Jobs on Seek paying $70k+

http://tinyurl.com/GroceryMgrSeek

Store Manager Roles on Seek paying $100K+

http://tinyurl.com/seekretail100

Do Retail workers get paid more or less than you thought they would? Do you have any questions about this post? Thoughts? Trolling quota to fulfill? Leave a comment below and I will do my best to reply. – aj

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Comments

  1. Seth M says

    mate this is freaking awesome, I haven’t been able to find this info anywhere else on the entire internet. THANK YOU X100!

  2. Chris says

    I cant believe how much store managers make, it kinda pisses me off no wonder they are such assholes most the time

  3. anonymous says

    I’m a Store Support Manager at (Edited-aj) and I can say that the above numbers are legit. Also I know another SSM at a large trader who is on $77k and have seen a salary Produce Mgr on 67k before, so you can break through the max ranges if you are very good. As for me, I’m aiming for Regional Manager! I’m doing Retail Leaders level 3 next intake to become a Store Manager, and hopefully level 4 to become RM after a couple of years.

    oh and Chris: Store managers work hard to get where they are, if yours is an asshole to you most of the time maybe you need to become better at your job.

  4. Jessie says

    I’ve been looking everywhere for this because I want to become the Deli manager at the Woolworths where I work. I’m so glad its good pay! I’m really gonna go for it now :)

    • says

      Shaun, A lot of Meat Managers are on a different Union (AMIEU) than other Supermarket workers, and they have different minimum pay conditions.

  5. Serious Sam says

    The working Mondays on your contract idea is smart because you dont have to actually work the public holiday either, you get the option to work it and get double time and a half or to take the day off and still get paid normal rate. I had it set up like that when I was a Dairy Manager a couple of years ago

    • says

      That’s a good point on not having to work Public Holidays Sam. Also, well played on your own contract too, you were ahead of the curve

  6. Lee says

    I deeply wish to be Duty manager at my store it is my dream how do I achieve it quickest time? Many thanks

    • says

      Hi Paul, thanks for the comment. If you don’t believe it, all you need to do is search Seek.com.au for Store Manager jobs and filter it to jobs paying above $100k, there are always plenty for Woolworths, Coles and Kmart.

    • mk says

      Store managers do get paid that much!I know for a fact because my husband has just recently been promoted to store manager in Sydney. They also receive bonuses however they do not get paid any penalty rates – no overtime, no Sunday rates and no public holidays.
      AND THEY WORK VERY HARD! My husband’s minimum weekly work hours are 60 not the 38 that he’s actually paid for. The former store manager who he is taking over from is a good friend and his salary was $125,000 plus bonuses. The former store manager is moving into a Regional Manager position. He has completed Retail Leader level 5, whereas my husband is starting level 4 next month.
      PS: I am a solicitor myself and I can attest to the fact that I do not know any registered and practicing lawyers that are at associate level and above who do not earn at least $125,000+!! My boss is a Barrister and he takes home over $400,000 per year.
      Coles can be a great place to work and you can succeed however it’s hard work, you have to be committed and actually enjoy your job (like anything) otherwise you’d only be chasing the money and end up a very disgruntled employee when you find it takes many years to get each promotion. Anyone looking at moving up in the big supermarkets – or if you are at the top already – I suggest that you speak to the big boys in head office and tell them to allocate reasonable hours to the managers of each department and store so the work can actually be done in a 40 hour week rather than 60+ hours per week!! The better a store does, the more the managers hours are reduced however the head honchos should realise this is only happening due to extra hours employees are putting in – unpaid!

  7. tim says

    I’ve always wondered how much do supermarket managers make and the pay rates for other retail management positions, particularly Woolworths and Coles – this post has it all – Thanks!! PS This really should be stickied at Whirlpool

  8. Jo says

    I work as an assistant store manager at a Foodland and I get under 50K per annum. I feel I’m getting ripped, but it’s hard to work out becuase everything is rolled in (leave loading, weekend/ public holiday loading, etc). We don’t have the option of earning bonuses. Other managers I know get about the same as me. There department managers are even lower. Apparently it’s normal as nobody else seems to think it’s low for what we do.

    • says

      Hi Jo, Store Operations management is always in-demand, my recommendation is to contact a frontline retail recruiter (type “Retail Management” into Seek paying above 50k and there will be a main Recruitment Agency posting alot of jobs) and take them through what you do now in your role, and they will be able to give you an idea of what you would be able to get on the market, and what jobs are currently available.

      Without knowing all of your job specific details I would estimate your market value to be 60k+

      A Duty Manager or even Nightfill manager at Coles or Woolworths in SA would expect to be on at least $55k+ so my feeling is that you are definitely being underpaid and you have scope to get a significant payrise when you move companies.

      Good luck!

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  10. Mikey says

    Nice, have been looking for detailed woolworths salary and coles salary info for store management jobs in retail and this is perfect. Good info!

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  12. jess says

    seems like so much work to get ahead, wish i could get an easier job that pays more and work more convenient hours

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