First published on Thursday, September 19, 2024
Last updated on Thursday, September 19, 2024
Have you heard the latest news?
Everything you need to know about the latest trends impacting employers all over Australia. Keep up to date with the HR Heartbeat.
Let’s get into the headlines.
R U OK? Day 2024
This year the awareness day fell on Thursday, September 12. The theme was Ask R U OK? Any Day, because life happens every day.
The society is founded on the idea that something as simple as one conversation initiated by family, friends, or colleagues can make a difference to someone struggling with their mental health.
As many people spend the vast majority of their week at work or in the workplace, this day serves as a reminder to employers to create an environment that actively fosters better health and wellbeing for their employees.
Because it’s not always easy to identify what an employer’s legal obligations are and how you can support your employees through difficult times, in our next webcast, our experienced advisers are giving you a step-by-step guide to managing mental health and wellbeing at work.
From the definitions of wellbeing and mental health at work and how to identify risk factors for poor mental health to how you can support employees and ensure you meet their rights and entitlements.
Save your seat at this one-time-only session today.
24% of Aussie SMEs are...
Concerned about the security risks of using AI.
That’s right. The results from the Peninsula Group Survey—conducting research across businesses in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, and the UK—are in. The survey was aimed at gauging how small and medium-sized businesses interact and use AI in their businesses, what’s stopping them from embracing the technology, and how their concerns have changed year on year.
Some concerns about AI usage, including loss of intellectual property fears and impact on work quality and productivity have gone up year-on-year by close to 200% and while AI usage has gone up by 50%, only 1 in 10 SMEs regularly use AI at work.
Learn more about the findings, here.
Migrant exploitation penalised $167,000
One of Australia’s largest celery producers based in Victoria has been court-ordered to pay penalties worth $166,860 for underpaying their vulnerable, visa-holding, migrant employees more than $91,000.
The business failed to pay the employees their minimum wages, casual loading, overtime, and public holiday rates they were owed under the Horticulture Awards 2010 and 2020.
The Fair Work Ombudsman stepped in to investigate the company after they received assistance requests from the farmhands who hadn’t been paid any wages for extended periods during their employment.
- One farmhand was paid for only 10 of the 52 weeks worked
- Another only received 6 weeks of pay for the 36 weeks worked
- The third only received 8 weeks of pay for 41 weeks of work
The Court found that the conduct was deliberate with the Judge pronouncing that it’s, “difficult to think of a contravention of an award that is more serious than a complete failure to pay employees their wages.”
All workers in Australia have the same rights. It’s important to make sure that you’re paying your employees their full entitlements on time.
With the modern awards system evolving consistently, making sure you’re staying on top of your legal obligations as an employer in Australia is critical. Simple tools like a Payroll Navigator can help you create custom reports and catch costly mistakes before they happen.
Accountant’s going down with you
For the first time, the Fair Work Ombudsman has taken legal action against an external professional services provider in connection with a company’s failure to comply with a Compliance Notice.
The company facing the Compliance Notice was a long distance road transport company, and the external services provider was its accountant.
The Compliance Notice was served after a Fair Work Inspector formed the belief that the company underpaid a driver employed on a casual basis the cents-per-kilometre rate they were entitled to under their Award.
The company authorised its accountant to respond to the Compliance Notice on the company’s behalf but the accountant failed to do so, which led to the company failing to comply with the Compliance Notice.
To comply with the Compliance Notice the company was required to pay $11,917. The penalties the FWO is now seeking for the alleged failure to comply add up to a penalty of $33,300 for the company and $6,660 for its accountant.
When it comes to compliance, businesses can’t afford to miss a deadline or get it wrong. That’s why prompt employment relations guidance is crucial for businesses.
BrightAdvice provides SMEs in Australia with 24/7 access to a team of employment relations advisers. Plus, end-to-end software that helps you keep track of tasks, create custom reports, and so much more. Learn more by booking your free demo with our software consultants.
That wraps up this edition of HR Heartbeat. Stay tuned for more headlines and all the latest updates that will keep you in the know with all the major employment changes coming your way.
If you’ve got questions about the top HR headlines from this week, ask Bright BrAInbox:
How to manage the impact of incidents on workers’ mental health?
By providing support such as counselling, communicating openly about the incident, and involving workers in the recovery and prevention process.
Breaches of the Migration Act 1958 do not affect the validity of employment contracts or contracts for services for the purposes of the Fair Work Act. This means migrant workers will be entitled to the protections of the Fair Work Act, (i.e., claims unfair dismissal or general protection) even where the individual may be in breach of their visa conditions.
Can I have a policy regulating the use of AI within the workplace?
Such a policy could form part of your company IT policies and could set out the circumstances where using AI is permitted, what information can be provided in prompts and the specific tasks it is to be used for. As these policies are highly individual to your business needs, please contact an adviser to discuss this further.
