Do you have employment contracts or individual flexibility agreements (IFAs) in place with your staff? When was the last time they were reviewed or when was the last time you undertook an audit of your Payroll system to make sure you are paying your staff correctly?
On 19 June 2020, the Fair Work Commission’s Expert Panel handed down the 2019 – 2020 Annual Wage Review decision. Most recently Group 2 Awards have an operative date from the first full pay period on or after 1 November 2020 and cover industries slightly less affected by the pandemic, such as clerks, building and construction, manufacturing, mining, and the miscellaneous award (among others).
This means the Award provisions may surpass those of the employment contract or IFA, resulting in your employees no longer being better off and therefore being unintentionally underpaid. The longer an underpayment goes undetected, the more difficult and expensive it becomes to rectify when it is picked up. Furthermore, there can be implications for superannuation, payroll tax and workers compensation premiums as well. It makes good sense to undertake an audit of your Payroll system to make sure payments are being made correctly to your employees.
If your employment contracts or IFAs have been in place for more than a year or two, the South Australian Business Chamber recommends you review the arrangement to ensure that:
Make sure you get it right and contact one our Workplace Relations Senior Consultants, who can help you with a review of your employment contracts, IFAs and/or undertake an audit of your Payroll system and if required, calculate any amounts owing.
How we can help:
If you are unsure of how the changes will impact your workplace or the employment arrangements you are a the South Australian Business Chamber member, contact our Business Advice Hotline on (08) 8300 0000 (select option one).
Industrial Relations Phone Advice Line:
We recognise that more support is needed by businesses across Australia as a result of COVID-19 pandemic. In partnership with the Fair Work Ombudsman, the South Australian Business Chamber is here to provide industrial relations advice to businesses covered by Commonwealth Workplace Laws.
The South Australian Business Chamber can assist you to understand your workplace obligations and you don’t need to be a the South Australian Business Chamber Member: all you need to do is contact one of our Workplace Advisers on (08) 8300 0000 (select option 2).
No problem is too big or too small and our Senior Consultants are also on standby to provide you with workplace advice regarding Awards or any other workplace support you may need. Call today on (08) 8300 0000 and speak with one of our highly experienced Senior consultants.
