COLES Supermarkets will pay an additional workers compensation to an employee who was injured while on the job, after the Supreme Court ruled the supermarket had underpaid the employee yesterday. 

In 2009 the employee, Nicole Harris, was left incapacitated for work after she was injured while working at Coles in Tuggeranong.

Coles accepted liability for the injury and were paying workers’ compensation of $430 a week; which was Ms Harris’ average earnings from the 18 hours she worked each week.

However after six months, Coles reduced her payments to $280 a week.

Coles argued the act allowed for a reduction in compensation to 65 per cent of pre-injury weekly earnings or the minimum wage, claiming the minimum wage should be based on the hourly minimum wage, not the weekly minimum.

But the magistrate ruled that the minimum wage referred to in the legislation was the weekly minimum, a decision upheld by the Supreme Court last week.

Coles did not appeal the Supreme Court decision.