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 …

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, …

Workplace laws are scary, right?

by Rob Sheppard [Approx. 4-minute read] Unless you’ve been off in that time-travelling DeLorean again, you will have come to the realisation that Australia’s (ongoing) workplace reforms are an issue for your business you can no longer hide from. Labor governments in WA and Nationally have made no secret of their aspirations to raise working conditions / experience and address a ‘perceived’ imbalance in worker lives…. and this is a driving force behind most of the recent reform. Let’s recap …

Working from home

If there’s one thing COVID-19 / coronavirus (‘C-19’ for the cool kids) has shown the business world, it’s that remote working is achievable for many different types of roles and duties that might normally have been pushed aside in a request to work from home. Necessity is the mother of all invention as they say. If you have found yourself in this situation or know of friends and business colleagues who are, you might already have started thinking about what …

casual offsetting

How to end casual ‘double dipping’

The Australian employment environment was rocked last year following the Federal Court of Australia decision in Workpac v Skene [2018] FCAFC 131. In short, this decision found that employers who incorrectly classify employees as casual instead of full-time or part-time could be responsible for back paying various entitlements under the National Employment Standards (NES). An immediate cry went up that this was effectively allowing ‘double-dipping’ for casuals to receive their casual loading (to cover not receiving the benefits of a permanent employee) …

Records. If only I’d known….

Records – in particular, records relating to employment. *yawn* But….what if we told you this is often the one area that employers wish they’d paid attention to before they were hit with penalties by an industrial regulator? In our travels, we regularly see missed record keeping requirements that would fail an inspection by an industrial regulator. For example, not having the correct pay level recorded, no date of commencement of employment…or there being no record of the termination of employment! …

Superannuation amnesty

CBSW: ATO Grants Amnesty for Unpaid Superannuation

A knowledgeable and thoughtful word from CBSW Tax and Business Advisors For over 20 years employers have had a legal requirement to pay superannuation for their employees with respect to their ‘Ordinary Time Earnings’. The current rate for superannuation is 9.5%, which has steadily increased over this time and is scheduled to continue its increase over the coming years. Sometimes, for a range of reasons, employers have underpaid or not paid the correct superannuation contributions. The Australian Taxation Office (“ATO”) …

An HR basic which could save your business money

Did you know… there are two systems of workplace laws in Australia and using the right one could save you money and headaches? Generally speaking, if a business is set up as a “Proprietary Limited company” – that is, as a Pty Ltd entity which hasn’t offered shares to the general public – then staff fall under the national employment system. This is managed by the Fair Work Ombudsman (www.fwo.gov.au). But if a business is set up as a sole …

Have you updated your overtime and shift rates yet?

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) regularly publishes updates to aspects of National System workplace laws. In case you missed it, in December 2017, the FWC published its final decision relating to the treatment of overtime rates and other entitlements in some modern awards. These changes centred on part time and casual employees and took effect from the first full pay cycle commencing on or after 1st January this year. Broadly speaking, the changes introduced overtime rates for casual employees in …