Understanding your Rights and Responsibilities as an Employer

1
Understanding your Rights and Responsibilities as
an Employer
Date Presented by
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Sources of Obligations
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The National Employment Standards
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Workshop Challenge Leave
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Workshop Challenge Leave
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Industrial instruments

• Modern Awards
• cover most workplaces
• industry and/or occupation-based
• contain minimum entitlements
• Enterprise Agreements
• apply to specified workplaces
• negotiated with employees
• must be approved by Fair Work Australia
• override modern award (except base rate of pay)

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Other arrangements

• Individual Flexibility Arrangements
• can vary certain award / agreement terms
• must be genuinely agreed between employer and
  employee
• employee must be better off overall
• Employment Contracts
• can provide equivalent or more generous
  conditions than NES and award / agreement
• cannot undercut minimum entitlements.

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Wages
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Wages

• Pay rates are set by the applicable modern award
  or enterprise agreement
• Changes to pay rates generally take effect on 1
  July each year.
• Modern award wages are transitioning from the
  pre-modern award to the modern award

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Pay slips record-keeping
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Record-keeping

• You need to keep employee records for each
  employee relating to
• Their employment
• Pay
• Overtime
• Hours of work
• Leave
• Superannuation contributions
• Termination of employment
• Other matters (IFAs and guarantees of annual
  earnings)
• Records must be in English, accessible to
  employees and Fair Work Inspectors and kept for 7
  years.
• Record-keeping templates can be downloaded for
  free from the Fair Work Ombudsman website.

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Pay slips

• Pay slips need to be issued within 1 working day
  of payment
• Pay slips can be issued electronically or in hard
  copy
• Pay slips must contain certain information see
  the Employee records and pay slips fact sheet for
  details
• Pay slip templates can be downloaded for free
  from the Fair Work Ombudsman website

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Workshop Exercise Payslips
Does your payslip contain all of the following details? Does your payslip contain all of the following details?
Employer ABN For employees paid an hourly rate the ordinary hourly rate of pay the number of hours worked at that rate the amount of payment at that rate
Employer name For employees paid an hourly rate the ordinary hourly rate of pay the number of hours worked at that rate the amount of payment at that rate
Employee name For employees paid an hourly rate the ordinary hourly rate of pay the number of hours worked at that rate the amount of payment at that rate
Date of payment (e.g. 19/06/09) For employees paid an hourly rate the ordinary hourly rate of pay the number of hours worked at that rate the amount of payment at that rate
Period of payment (e.g. 04/06/09 18/06/09) For employees paid an hourly rate the ordinary hourly rate of pay the number of hours worked at that rate the amount of payment at that rate
Gross amount of pay For employees paid an annual salary the salary as at the last day in the period
Net amount of pay Any bonus, loading, allowance, penalty rate, incentive-based payment or other separately identifiable entitlements
Details of any deductions made Superannuation amounts paid or liable to be paid and the name of the fund
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Engaging, Managing Terminating Staff
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Hiring Employees

• Confirm
• the award/agreement that applies
• the type of employment (full-time, part-time or
  casual)
• any conditions re type of employment/proposed
  hours
• the employees classification (e.g. Level 1)
• the correct rate of pay, loadings and allowances
• Provide new employees with
• the Fair Work Information Statement
• an engagement letter confirming their conditions
  of employment (optional)

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Engaging Contractors

• Independent contractors are people who are
  self-employed and contract their services to
  clients.
• Independent contractors are not employees and
  have different rights and obligations.
• Misrepresenting or disguising an employee as an
  independent contractor is known as sham
  contracting and is against the law.

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Adverse Action

• Adverse action is includes taking, threatening to
  take or organising to take actions that
• dismiss the employee
• injure the employee in his or her employment
• alter the position of the employee to the
  employee's prejudice
• discriminate between the employee and other
  employees
• Different forms of adverse action apply to
  prospective employees and independent contractors

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Protections from Adverse Action

• It is unlawful for an employer to take adverse
  action in connection with the employee having
• workplace rights
• 2. freedom of association/union rights and/or
  engaging in lawful industrial activity
• 3. protected attributes / on discriminatory
  grounds

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Handling workplace disputes

• Communicate - take time to understand and discuss
  the concerns. Keep detailed notes of
  discussions.
• Check the applicable modern award/agreement to
  confirm the process for handling disputes.
• If unresolved, refer to an independent third
  party or Fair Work Australia.
• Download the Effective dispute resolution - Best
  Practice Guide from the Fair Work Ombudsman
  website

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Managing underperformance

• Address underperformance promptly and
  appropriately
• Follow any steps set out in the award / agreement
  or contract and consider applicable policies or
  procedures concerning performance management
• Download the Managing Underperformance Best
  Practice Guide from the Fair Work Ombudsman
  website

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Terminating employment

• Provide written notice of termination of
  employment
• Ensure the dismissal is fair
• Ensure the dismissal is lawful
• Check if redundancy entitlements apply
• Keep records
• Pay outstanding entitlements

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Workshop Challenge Notice
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Workshop Challenge Notice
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Things to avoid

• Not paying penalties, allowances or overtime
• Not paying for work trials, meetings or training
• Offering goods or services instead of pay
• Failing to provide pay slips
• Unlawful discrimination
• Sham contracting
• Sham apprenticeships or trainee arrangements

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What to do if the FWO contacts you

• Speak with your franchisor and seek advice if you
  need it
• Cooperate with the Fair Work Inspector produce
  requested documents and records ask questions if
  you dont understand
• Seek to promptly resolve the complaint or any
  issues raised in an audit

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Where to get help

• Speak with your franchisor or employer
  association
• Visit www.fairwork.gov.au for
• Pay tools and Leave calculator
• Fact Sheets and Best Practice Guides
• Template Documents and Checklists
• Industry Specific Web Pages
• Live chat and email enquiries
• Latest news and subscriptions services
• Call the Fair Work Infoline 1313 94