Unlock more work happiness: tackle Psychosocial Hazards

by Rob Sheppard [Approx 3.5 min read] Does your workplace experience heavy workloads, have unclear roles for its people or little to no communication between managers, teams and individuals? If it does, then we just identified some of the criteria to suggest you have ‘psychosocial hazards’ in the workplace. In this article, we’ll expand on last month’s article [Right to Disconnect Puts the ‘Off’ in Office Hours.] that touched on psychosocial hazards and dive into what they are, how they …

Right to Disconnect Puts the ‘Off’ in Office Hours.

by Rob Sheppard and Taylah Cooper [IMPORTANT NOTE: this article has been updated as at 06/03/24] [Approx 3.5 min read] The balance between work and life has become an almost continual topic of conversation in the post-Covid SME business world. With the Fair Work Amendment (Right to Disconnect) Bill 2023 (the ‘amendment’) passing into law, there is now a legal ‘right to disconnect’ for Australian workers established. This amendment to the Fair Work Act 2009 is an attempt to place …

Compliance and conversation – the keys to 2024

by Rob Sheppard [Approx 3 min read] 2024 marks the year for businesses in Australia to be more aware than ever of how they operate – both in terms of the suite of new employment laws they face and the way businesses attract and retain their workforces. It is especially crucial for SMEs to be aware of the changes in employment conditions and entitlements as they continue to expand their operations (issues impacting 2-3 team members will be exponentially worse …

Are you exposed to deductions?

a mini-article by Taylah Cooper [Approx 1 min read] Some SMEs struggle to move away from a ‘handshake’ method of deducting from their team members pays – and this could be a problem in 2024. (note: this information applies to national system employers only) What was the deal? Under the Fair Work Act 2009, rules already apply when making deductions from an employee’s pay. For deductions made for the employee’s benefit (like a salary sacrifice to a health fund or …

Building better businesses from the lessons of 2023

by Rob Sheppard [Approx 3 min read] In Australia, workforce management for SMEs has witnessed a transformative [perhaps even ‘seismic’] shift in both legislation and the way office and technology-based roles now work. Looking back at our articles over the year, it was evident that the journey to this transformation has been marked by both significant changes and opportunities to grow. Here is a snapshot of just some of the year as we saw it: The flexible [hybrid] work revolution …

The Flexible Work Revolution: Embracing Change in a Business World

by Rob Sheppard [Approx 4.5 min read] SME business owners face many challenges in today’s constantly changing employment landscape. A growing challenge that is not going away post-Covid, is the demand for flexible work arrangements from teams who have enjoyed the positive impact this has had on their lives. It is also a legislated area of the workplace – as many business owners are finding out. While compliance with laws is obviously essential, I thought I’d shed some light on …

Paying people is easy, why can’t you get it right?

by Rob Sheppard [Approx 3.5 min read] In the dynamic landscape of Australian industrial relations, interpreting award conditions can be a formidable challenge for businesses of all sizes. Just ask some of the biggest corporations in Australia (ahem- Commonwealth Bank and Woolies just to name two).   The complexities involved in understanding both the Western Australian (WA) State system and the Federal (Fair Work) System can seem overwhelming at times. And if you think it’s already tough, brace yourself, because …

It’s MORE than just the money.

by Rob Sheppard [Approx 3.5 min read] In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and a tight labour market, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Australia have been faced with a growing gap between the salaries and wages they can offer compared to the salaries and wages offered by big business. “Traditional methods” to attract and retain people (offering higher wages than the competitors or structured career pathways over a longer period) are giving way to a more holistic approach, …

Subcontractors: What EVERY business owner needs to know.

by Taylah Cooper [Approx. 2-minute read] Have you heard the term ‘sham contracting’? Hopefully you have and are therefore also aware of the other laws that might apply when engaging independent contractors (aka ‘subbies’). For everyone else, this mini-article aims to shed light on THREE of the common rights and protections that contractors hold. 1. Sham Contracting ‘Sham contracting’ is when a business tells or tries to mislead a worker to believe that they are an independent contractor, when they …

The future of leading: 3 essential skills to develop RIGHT NOW.

by Rob Sheppard [Approx. 5-minute read- because being Super doesn’t happen quickly] In today’s rapidly changing world, the role of managers and leaders is evolving like never before. With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and the automation of routine tasks being taken over by machines, a focus is clearly developing that highlights one thing: managers WILL have a greater responsibility to lead and manage humans using Emotional Intelligence (EI). What are Super Skills? Super Skills, in the context of …