Both companies informed the ASX about the likely financial consequences of the Federal Court ruling from last Friday, which impacts nearly 30,000 employees.

The court reached a decision on four cases involving these supermarket chains after a regulatory body claimed there was an implicit acceptance of unlawful practices in many of their stores.

Woolworths said today that further payments to salaried store team leaders is forecast to range from $180 million to $330 million after tax.

An additional sum ranging from $140 million to $200 million covering superannuation, payroll tax, and interest might be incurred once the total compensation amount is finalized.

Woolworths says the figures were “a very preliminary estimate with significant uncertainty”.

Competitor Coles, which is also part of the class action ruling, said it expects further remediation between $150 million and $250 million.

However, the company advised caution against relying on speculative figures that might not fully consider how the court’s decision applies specifically to Coles’ situation.

As of now, Woolworths and Coles have reimbursed $330 million and $7 million, respectively, to managers who were underpaid in their roles as salaried employees.

But the Fair Work Ombudsman and former grocery store employees behind two class actions say the market leaders should be forced to pay more.

The watchdog argued the relevant award set out a 38-hour work week but there was tacit approval to allow people to work overtime regularly.

It claims there were failures in the use of “informal” rosters, time off in lieu and record-keeping on overtime, penalties and allowances.

But Woolworths said some employees were authorised to work up to 45 hours a week and they were not required to do overtime beyond that.

Coles argued managers had autonomy over their hours and the estimates of working hours and days were overestimated by the Fair Work Ombudsman.