Each financial year, the Fair Work Ombudsmen (FWO) releases its Compliance and Enforcement Priorities. These are designed to highlight areas where the FWO believes there to be a lack of employment compliance, or potential for underpayments, within a specific industry or sector and where they will be devoting their attention and resources in the coming year.
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.
Businesses operating in Australia are subject to a number of requirements around record-keeping obligations. Whilst it may not seem like the most important part of running a business, it plays a significant role in employment compliance and the punishments for not being compliant can severely impact a business. Through this guide we’ll specify what details businesses must record and why it is so important for businesses to record them.
Once you’ve identified the correct base rate to pay your employees, you’ll also need to ensure that any penalty rates are applied, and relevant allowances are paid. These are often areas where businesses make mistakes that lead to them underpaying their employees, so it is crucial for businesses to understand what they need to pay their employees and when they need to pay them each rate.
Modern Awards can have the option of paying by an annualised wage arrangement which allows employers to pay a fixed amount per week to satisfy all entitlements prescribed under the Award.
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.
In line with existing legislation, the Superannuation Guarantee will reach 12 percent on 1 July 2025, going through annual 0.5 percent increases each year on 1 July.
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