With the number of underpayment claims made against businesses across the hospitality and service sectors, it is no wonder HR compliance and pay rates have been hot topics in the mainstream media of late.
One of the major challenges for business owners and employers, large and small, is in keeping up to date with employment laws in Australia. With some of the most complex employment laws in the world, it is no wonder even large businesses, such as banks and supermarkets, with large internal HR teams, have gotten it wrong.
Even having faced allegations and audits from Fair Work Inspectors, many businesses and employers still find it difficult to understand the actions they need to take to stay compliant. This is due to the hundreds of pages of legislation, mandatory National Employment Standards, and over 122 Modern Awards that set out minimum employee entitlements. These laws and awards are also constantly updated. Temporary amendments to laws and awards have also been enacted due to Covid-19 (eg. JobKeeper provisions). Staying across changes to awards and pay rates, correct entitlements, and compliance with pay slip and record-keeping laws can be fraught with risks and costly errors.
Having to navigate complex employment laws, interpret requirements, and determining next steps is time consuming, time that employers often struggle to find whilst managing day-to-day business operations. Even when seeking expert HR advice, some providers don’t offer the systems and tools that modern businesses need to stay compliant. “It’s important that business owners and managers rely on expert HR advice from qualified employment lawyers and HR professionals, and use compliant HR systems and tools, to ensure they operate successfully and achieve full-compliance with Australian employment laws.” says Sean Wilson, CEO of BetterHR.
Relying on expert guidance and advice to assist with rectifying non-compliance is often the advisable approach to reducing risk. “Our Clients typically approach us with a desire to prevent non-compliance, and ask us to provide support through our all-in-one plans with access to HR advice and HR software.” says Sean. “They then rely on our experienced team to provide updates that keep them across changes happening in their sectors. This allows them to focus more time on running their business successfully.”
Prevention from non-compliance is the key to protecting a business against risks, costly fines and penalties. A proactive approach, and initial outlays in getting the right HR advice and HR systems can head off any potential problems later on.