Despite consistent warnings in the form of very public underpayment scandals, large businesses are still being found to be underpaying their employees in a variety of ways.
The act of whistleblowing involves identifying and calling out misconduct and harm to consumers and the public. Whistleblowers are mainly covered by the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act) which provides them legal rights and protections, although other legislation can also protect them.
So-called “Wage Theft”, and wage underpayments in general, have emerged as an issue in Australia over the last 6 years or so. Put simply, Wage Theft is when an employer underpays an employee either intentionally, or with high levels of negligence or recklessness towards their payroll compliance obligations. The level of ‘intent’ is where Wage Theft differs from underpayments in general. 2019 analysis from PwC estimated that underpayments to employees could be as high as $1.35 billion per year. Whilst only an estimate and not focusing on Wage Theft specifically, it can be assumed that despite only emerging as an issue relatively recently, Wage Theft has been occurring long before underpayments were discovered and publicised.
Most employers now conveniently align the probation period under their contracts of employment to the minimum employment period under the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many employees were forced to work remotely. As a result, the advantages of working from home became evident to many. When restrictions were lifted, employers faced resistance from employees who preferred to continue working from home.
Over the years, we have assisted some clients who have had particularly difficult experiences with employees whom they have dismissed (generally before they spoke to us) or wanted to discipline for some reason. In these cases we are talking about, the employee has set out on a path of destruction against the hapless employer, driven by what appears to be rage or at least a desire to get even at any cost.
It is a common belief amongst employers in Australia that it is okay to fire new employees without notice. Many employers also believe it is okay to terminate employees in the first few months of employment without reasoning or following the proper procedure. But both of these beliefs are simply untrue.
When people are thrown together for eight hours a day, five days a week, conflict is probably inevitable. After all, without some lower levels of conflict or competition, workplaces would be very boring places indeed, with little or no differing opinions or exchange of ideas. However, if the conflict escalates there are generally no positives to be gained.
The employee must provide evidence to the employer that they were genuinely entitled to sick leave. Generally, a medical certificate is a legal document that should satisfy the employer of an employee’s inability to work. This doesn’t mean that an employer can’t question the validity of the medical certificate.
Staff who regularly take sick days without repercussions are likely to continue doing so – this will have a negative impact on other workers who may soon start to follow suit, or feel aggrieved because they are at work doing the right thing. There are several theories on best practice when it comes to dealing with absenteeism, but the key is for employers to show an interest.
Get the latest HR/ER/IR Updates and news that could affect your business straight into your inbox.
