Fair Work Ombudsman awards Wollongong truck driver $11,500

Payroll News reports that a truck driver in Wollongong has been back-paid $11,500 following an investigation from the Fair Work Ombudsman.

Following a complaint lodged by the employee, Fair Work inspectors contacted the driver’s employer to clarify its obligations. The driver was subsequently back-paid three weeks’ sick leave and termination pay.

Fair Work Ombudsman Executive Director, Michael Campbell, advised, “We have a flexible, fair approach and our preference is always to work with employers to help them resolve any non-compliance issues we identify.”.

He added that the Agency places a strong focus on educating and assisting employers to understand and comply with workplace laws.

The business in question has now put processes in place to ensure the mistake is not repeated.

So how can other businesses ensure they don’t make similar mistakes?

Small to medium-sized businesses without dedicated HR staff can ensure they are better equipped to manage employees by using free employment documentation templates available through the Fair Work Ombudsman’s website.

A series of Best Practice Guides have also been developed by the Fair Work Ombudsman to assist employers make better use of the provisions of the Fair Work Act and better understand other aspects of workplace laws.

These guides cover work and family, consultation and co-operation, individual flexibility arrangements, employing young workers, gender pay equity, small business, workplace privacy, managing underperformance, effective dispute resolution, parental leave and improving workplace productivity in bargaining.

Businesses can also benefit from implementing an automated Employee Time Management System, which records employee attendance as well as automatically calculating specific pay scales, modern awards, pay penalties and overtime rates. This information is then uploaded directly to the organisation’s payroll system – enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of the pay run.

Real time Absence Management reports also allow management to view the Annual Leave and sick leave taken by employees to date, while Employee Self Service functionality enables staff to view accrued leave and request holidays with the click of a mouse.

For more information download Mitrefinch’s Free Guide to Implementing a Time and Attendance System. Alternatively feel free to call 1300 884 831 or email sales@mitrefinch.com.au to discuss in more detail.

Read the full article on Payroll News: http://www.payrollnews.com.au/AnnouncementRetrieve.aspx?ID=50565

Unlimited leave policy abuse treated "very seriously" by Fair Work Australia

Fair Work Australia, the national workplace relations tribunal, has upheld an international corporation's dismissal of a worker who fraudulently used his carer's leave to take a weekend off, advising that such an action could harm other employees by undermining the employer's trust-based "unlimited" leave policy.

A production worker at Nyrstar in Hobart, Tasmania initially sought annual leave for a weekend last September, but was refused on the basis that it would have left the operation short-staffed. He then sought carer's leave, with the support of a medical certificate providing that he needed time off to attend appointments with his daughter, who had been on crutches after an injury.

The company approved the leave and planned to cover the absence with a labour hire employee. However on hearing rumours that the worker's leave request wasn't authentic, management employed the services of an independent investigator who conducted surveillance on the employee, and returned with a report and DVD that showed he had travelled with his family to the Tamar Valley Resort, for the weekend in question.

The employee was confronted with the evidence and after having a chance to explain his actions, was eventually dismissed due to “his utilisation of carer's leave under false pretences” and that he had "consciously taken a decision to defraud the company".

Commissioner Deegan from Fair Work Australia took into account that the employee's misuse of his unlimited entitlement to leave, "could have the effect of bringing about a change in policy and lead to greater restrictions on the availability of leave for other employees in the future". "For this reason I think it is understandable that an employer treat very seriously any circumstances in which such entitlements are abused".

Nyrstar’s HR manager, Tim Wilson-Haffenden, told Fair Work Australia that the company provided a personal leave entitlement that included carers' leave. It was a "no debit/no credit" system, "in the sense that if an employee is sick, then providing they supply the appropriate documentation, they are entitled to paid sick leave".

Wilson-Haffenden advised that the system was treated with a fair degree of trust and that in the context of good relations between management and employees, there was no systematic abuse.

Commissioner Deegan said she was satisfied that the employee intended to go on the trip to northern Tasmania when he applied for the carer's leave.

As such, his use of the leave for that purpose, supported by the medical certificate claiming he had to take his daughter to "appointments" was "at no time a legitimate use of that leave", she said.

Consequently, the company had a valid reason for dismissing the worker based on the dishonest answers provided to Wilson-Haffenden.

Source: http://www.workplaceexpress.com.au/

By administering and tracking both paid and unpaid leave policies, Mitrefinch’s Time and Attendance System (Mitrefinch TMS) plays a valuable role in helping organisations maintain compliance with federal, state, and union mandates.

Today, due to the robust workplace legislation surrounding the Fair Work Act, organisations are struggling to accurately track leave for all their employees. Yet with the rise in Workplace lawsuits being brought up against organisations, it is more important than ever for management to accurately track and administer leave time.

Mitrefinch’s Time and Attendance System allows organisations to:

• Keep a central, remote repository of all employee leave records, facilitates tracking of all leave types such as Vacation/Personal leave


• Automatically determine leave eligibility based on an employee’s hours worked and hire date.


• Generate absence management and vacation planning reports


• Store doctor’s certifications and will send alerts when new certifications are required


• Reduce the likelihood of Workplace investigations and employee lawsuits


• Eliminate administrative error and reduce admin time as employees can request leave and explain absences online while supervisors oversee anomalies and authorise or decline requests automatically


• Reduce the time required to manually administer federal and state leave laws by as much as 65%.


• Employees can check their own leave records and entitlements quickly and easily

If you would like discover how your organisation can benefit from effective Leave Management and avoid costly law suits contact Mitrefinch today on 1300 884 931 or email sales@mitrefinch.com.au

Employers shirk employee obligations with Sham Contracts

As per an article in the latest online edition of the HR Leader, a Brisbane call centre has been ordered to pay a total of $214,500 after being found guilty of underpaying its staff by using “sham contracts”.

Contracting Plus Pty Ltd was found guilty of violating workplace laws by paying its workers less than the minimum hourly rate of pay, amounting to $46,000.

The former Brisbane CBD call centre attempted to classify workers as “independent contractors” rather than employees, and therefore avoided mandatory requirements relating to salary and benefits.

At the ruling, Federal Magistrate Michael Burnett said that, “Sham contracting is a serious matter because if workers are incorrectly classified as independent contractors, they can miss out on fundamental entitlements such as minimum pay rates, penalty rates and annual leave.”

Burnett ordered that the fines should go towards reimbursing the employees of Contracting Plus Pty Ltd, a large number of whom were under the age of 21.

“To purposely deny vulnerable and low-skilled workers these important employment entitlements by disguising them as contractors is particularly reprehensible,” he added. “As such, it is important that my agency mark its disapproval of such behaviour and deter others from doing the same.”

Michael Campbell, Fair Work Ombudsman Executive Director, praised the decision, advising that it sent out a very clear warning to other would-be employers looking to evade workplace legislation and their obligations to employees.

The HR Leader reports that the trend of so-called sham contracting appears to have spread into several sectors, with a recent investigation led by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) halting hundreds of illegal contracts at construction sites across Australia. Nationwide audits look set to continue, with well-known multi-nationals such as Bovis Lend Lease and Multiplex construction being questioned by the CFMEU.

Construction workers have teamed up with the union to create the ‘Stop the Sham’ campaign, in an effort to voice their anger against the growing practice of sham-contracting. They are also calling for co-ordinated Federal Government action.

CFMEU Construction National Secretary Dave Noonan said that he blamed authorities for turning a blind eye to the practice, and as well as treating workers unfairly, the organisations responsible were also evading business taxes.

“These companies are taking lucrative Federal Government construction contracts with one hand, and undermining Australia’s tax base with the other,” he said.

To read the full article see: http://www.humanresourcesmagazine.com.au/articles/27/0C06F927.asp

There is an easier way to comply with penalty rates and workplace legislation without resorting to Sham Contracts

Ensuring that you are compliant with penalty rates and modern awards can represent a major headache for many organisations, but you don't need to evade the law to elevate the stress of effective Award Interpretation and Time Management processes.

Mitrefinch's Employee Time Management System (TMS) can do all the hard work for you via an in-built, fully customisable Award Interpreter.

Calculate base and overtime pay, weekend and public holiday penalties, as well as leave loading and shift penalties, ensuring consistent application of your business rules. A direct interface to your external payroll application further reduces payroll administration and the potential for costly payroll errors.

If you would like discover how your organisation can benefit from more efficient Award Interpretation and effective Employee Time Management contact Mitrefinch today on 1300 884 931 or email sales@mitrefinch.com.au

You can't afford not to.

(Source: HR Leader)

Mitrefinch User Group Conference to showcase new Time and Attendance developments

Mitrefinch's Australian clients will congregate at the Company’s Annual User Group Conferences in Melbourne and Sydney this April.

These free half day events will provide clients with an opportunity to experience the advanced data visualisation and mobile working features available in the latest release of Mitrefinch’s Time and Attendance system, TMS Version 6.0, as well as new developments in biometric technology, data collection devices, and other employee management add on solutions.

Debbie Guppy, Mitrefinch Group CEO, from Mitrefinch’s UK head office will be on hand to provide the keynote speech, and announce the launch of a new Customer Referral Club, which aims to acknowledge and offer incentives for any new business that clients refer to Mitrefinch.

In addition, senior management and members from Mitrefinch Australia’s support and technical team will be sharing their expertise with attendees, and providing advice on how to gain the best possible return on investment from Mitrefinch’s employee management solutions.

Attendees will also have ample opportunity to exchange real world knowledge and experience with their peers and system users from other industry sectors over a networking lunch.

“Our clients have found direct access to senior management to be a key differentiator from other conferences”, advises Allan Murdoch, Mitrefinch Business Development Manager. “The insight we receive from our attendees is invaluable, I believe we learn more from our customers than any other source. Their feedback drives the direction of our development to meet their needs."

The Mitrefinch User Group Conferences will be held in Melbourne at the Punt Hill South Yarra Grand on Thursday April 14th and in Sydney at WatervieW Conference Centre, Olympic Park on Friday April 15th.

Further User Group Conferences are planned for Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth later this year.

The User Group Conferences are free for all Mitrefinch users to attend, however RSVP by March 25th is essential.

To reserve your spot you can register online or contact Mitrefinch directly on 1300 884 831 or sales@mitrefinch.com.au

For more information on Mitrefinch's User Group Conference please see the Event Page

Mitrefinch proud to support Australia's National Payroll Week

As a leading provider of Time and Attendance Systems and Employee Management Solutions, Mitrefinch Australia are once again proud to support National Payroll Week, an initiative of The Association of Payroll Specialists (TAPS).

National Payroll Week focuses on raising the profile of payroll and acknowledging the hard work of all payroll professionals. This year the initiative will run from March 21st to 25th.

Payroll is one of the most highly regulated functions within a company. Compliance with complex federal and state legislation, workplace agreements and award structures is essential, yet despite these challenges, payroll personnel continue to calculate employee’s pay accurately and on time, every pay run.

As part of the National Payroll Week, TAPS will run their Poster Campaign and a Photo Competition. Now in it's 17th year, the Poster Campaign encourages TAPS members to celebrate their profession and spread the word about the important role payroll plays within the business.

“During National Payroll Week we are delighted to acknowledge the essential role that payroll personnel play in every business”, said Jamie Fitzsimons, Mitrefinch Marketing Manager.

“Payroll error rates can account for up to 1.2% of total payroll costs. This amounts to millions of dollars in overhead costs for many Australian businesses. Having qualified personnel as well as a user-friendly system to help automate payroll can significantly reduce payroll processing time, offering huge cost savings”.

Mitrefinch’s Time Management Solution, TMS, is used on a daily basis by many payroll professionals around Australia, helping their organisations to reduce labour costs and eliminate payroll errors, while improving workplace productivity and efficiency.

For more information on TAPS or National Payroll Week please visit: www.payroll.com.au

Employers to run Paid Parental Leave Scheme through their Payroll or risk large fines

Aussie businesses could face fines of up to $33,000 if they fail to run the government's new paid maternity scheme through their payroll.

Thousands of mothers have applied for the $570-a-week paid parental leave scheme since it was introduced on January 1, according to new figures released by Families Minister Jenny Macklin.

Faced with a choice between the paid parental leave scheme offering up to $10,000 to working mums and the $5000 baby bonus, available to stay-at-home mums, eligible parents are flocking to the new scheme, with over 15,500 families lodging applications to date.

But small business groups are fighting back over demands they administer the scheme after July 1, with a legislative showdown brewing as Parliament resumes. They advise that many employers’ simply are not aware of the scheme and the potential fines they could face for failing to comply.

MPs will vote on Coalition reforms to force the Gillard Government to instruct Centrelink to keep running the scheme.

Ms Macklin told Sunday Herald Sun she was determined to see the scheme administered by business rather than Centrelink. "Paid parental leave is a workplace entitlement, just like annual leave or sick leave," she said.

"Our scheme helps employers retain skilled and valuable staff...It's important for women to maintain a connection to the workplace.”

"Employers will pass on Government-funded parental leave pay to their long-term employees through the employee's usual pay cycle and will receive the funds from the Government in advance," she added.

But the Opposition’s Small Business Spokesman Bruce Billson said: "It's an unnecessary burden on small business and exposes employers to big fines."

The Council of Small Business of Australia (COSBA) Executive Director, Peter Strong, said there was little explanation for the red tape other than a philosophical view that the maternity payment should be a workplace entitlement rather than a welfare payment.

"It's about time the Government funded paid maternity leave and that's great, but we don't want to be the paymaster," he said.

Parents can apply for the taxpayer-funded scheme up to 3 months before the birth of their child and can take it in conjunction with, before or after any employer-funded leave. It is taxed but can also be transferred to fathers if mothers return to work early.

(Sources: Sunday Herald Sun and Payroll News)

Have you noticed a spike in sickies this week?

Managers around the country are preparing for a rise in sudden sickies this week, as the midweek public holiday for Australia Day prompts many to take an unofficial extra long weekend.

Absenteeism expert Paul Dundon, of Direct Health Solutions, told the Herald Sun that employers could expect a 15-20 per cent increase in sick leave on the Thursday and Friday after Australia Day.

While Chris James, spokesman for the Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry, agreed some employees would attempt to take two "sickies" to turn the public holiday into a five-day weekend.

Interestingly, a recent report, also found that public servants, especially those living near the coast, take more sick leave than their counterparts in the private sector, with an apparent spike in days off before and after weekends and public holidays.

Unplanned absenteeism is a major concern for many organisations and employers must consider both the direct and indirect costs incurred when an employee is absent.

Direct costs are the benefits paid to the employee to provide income during an absence i.e. Sick, holiday and vacation pay as well as a disability benefit. However the indirect costs associated with unplanned absence are typically ignored or poorly tracked yet they can have a considerable impact to an organisation’s bottom line.

Some indirect costs include;

• A decrease in productivity, resulting in missed business opportunities or reduced customer service
• Fees of the temporary staff required to cover for the absent staff, or overtime costs for other staff covering for their absent colleagues
• Weaken morale of staff forced to cover for absent colleagues, may have a knock-on effect, establishing a culture for “chucking a sickie”

So what can you do to control the impact of absenteeism?

As the old adage goes, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it”. Organisations need to have an effective means of measuring staff absence in place, enabling them to assess the extent of the issue and decide the best means of tackling the problem.

A Time and Attendance system can monitor and record patterns of absenteeism, sick leave, and productivity, allowing you to establish any regular patterns or sudden unexplained changes.

For example, the Mitrefinch Time and Attendance solution, includes advanced Absence Management functionality allowing employers to profile staff by absence tracking. The system measures how the work absences of individual employees impact your business - by recording the number of absences and the duration of each incidence and providing a ‘score’ for each employee.

With this information readily and quickly available, management can identify workers suspected of abusing sick leave and possible absenteeism trends – allowing them to deal with problem areas before they do any more damage to the organisation’s bottom line.

So want to enjoy your Australia Day festivities without having to worry about a loss of productivity for the rest of the week? Then give us a call today on 1300 884 831 or visit Mitrefinch to find out more about effective Absence Management.

(Sources: “Sickies by the seaside: report points the finger”, SMH 8/12/10, Brian Robins and “Bosses brace for sickies following Australia Day”, Herald Sun 22/01/11, Staff Writers)

How a Time and Attendance System can draw attention to workplace bullying and bad management

While many organisations invest in Time and Attendance systems to better track employee hours, as well as absences, there may be even more valuable information for senior managers and company directors locked within the statistical attendance data collected.

Consider the fact that a report released by the Productivity Commission, found that the effects of workplace stress, including bullying, cost Australian businesses up to $10 billion a year through absenteeism and poor productivity [1]. That amounts to alot of lost revenue that could potentially have been saved.

So what if your Time and Attendance system could find not only highlight idle employees, but also establish a link between absenteeism and workplace bullying or bad management?

A Time and Attendance system monitors and records patterns of absenteeism, sick leave, and productivity, allowing you to establish any regular patterns or sudden unexplained changes.

Does your company have a department that appears to be more efficient than the rest? Does that efficiency stand up once you factor in lost time due to illness, injury, and disability? Have you seen a spike in turnover in an area of your business where you’ve recently promoted a new manager.

Using this type of data can identify potential workplace bullying or manager/supervisor issues early on, allowing you to address the problem before it damages your business and your bottom line.

For more information on how a Time and Attendance system can benefit your business, why not give us a call today on 1300 884 831 or visit http://www.mitrefinch.com.au/?

[1] http://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/blogs/for_employees/archive/2010/05/20/workplace-bullying-a-major-issue-for-employers.aspx

Mitrefinch Christmas Hours of Operation

The Mitrefinch Australia Office will be closed on Monday 27th December, Tuesday 28th December and Monday 3rd January.

Our Support Desk will be operational as normal throughout the remainder of the holiday period.

Call 1300 884 817 or email support@mitrefinch.com.au for assistance

Extra Christmas Holiday? Penalty Rate confusion continues...

Political pressure to protect Christmas Day penalty rates continues to mount amid confusion over different approaches adopted by the states.

Previously when Christmas Day has fallen on a weekend, workers received penalty rates on substitute public holidays the following week.

Governments in NSW, Queensland, Western Australia, NT and Tasmania have already moved to pay workers Christmas Day penalty rates in addition to penalty rates for working on Monday, December 27. While the ACT, South Australian and Victorian governments have so far refused.
Confused yet? You’re not the only one!

The Australian Industry (Ai) Group told a Fair Work Australia hearing in Melbourne, on Wednesday, that there was potential for "public holiday chaos", with six states adopting five different approaches. Chief executive Heather Ridout said in a statement the submission was made to "avoid unnecessary cost and confusion".

The Ai Group argues that penalty rates should be paid on substitute public holidays and not on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day and Australia Day when they fall on weekends.

However, the Australian Greens have pushed the Federal Parliament to introduce a common standard across the country, whereby public holiday penalty rates are paid to all workers rostered to work on Christmas Day, regardless what day of the week it falls on.

Greens leader Bob Brown said it was unfair that workers in some areas be penalised just because their state hasn't set up fair treatment on penalty rates.

"People need fair compensation for giving up time with family and friends at Christmas," Senator Brown said.

From a business perspective, the continuing chaos over Christmas holiday trading leaves employers with a staff rostering nightmare. “Employers, struggling to manage Christmas and New Year rosters don’t know when penalty rates would apply, either for the weekend itself, or the substitute day, or for both”, advised Senator Abetz, Opposition Leader of the Senate.

For retailers the costs are significant, with Coles Supermarkets warning the NSW Government that it will lose $15 million in sales due to the current structure of the state's public holiday schedule, which will prohibit it from opening on Boxing Day.

The Ai Group's application, if successful, would offset any legislation passed by state governments.

Read more:
News.com.au, Smart Company, Herald Sun

Whatever the decision, Mitrefinch's Time Management System (TMS) takes the stress out of employee allowances and entitlement calculations via an in-built, fully customisable Award Interpreter. Easily calculate base and overtime pay, weekend and public holiday penalties, as well as leave loading and shift penalties, ensuring consistent application of your business rules. A direct interface to your external payroll application further reduces payroll administration and the potential for costly payroll errors.

For more information contact Mitrefinch Sales on 1300 884 831 or visit Mitrefinch Online

The future of Australia’s industrial relations and paid parental leave policy hangs in the balance

Following the weekend’s hung parliament, HR professionals eagerly await the news of a potential new Government, which is likely to impact on both IR laws and also the much-debated paid parental leave scheme.

However, constitutional law experts have advised that negotiations over the next Federal Government could drag on until the end of November.

Professor Donald Rothwell from the Australian National University's College of Law, said parliament must meet within 30 days of electoral officials confirming the names of each candidate elected but the commission had until October 27 to do this.

"This could allow Prime Minister Gillard to convene the House of Representatives as late as 26 November 2010, thereby allowing for as long as three months for agreements to be reached with the independents," he said.

Rothwell advised that Gillard could remain as caretaker prime minister until then.

Prior to the election, Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced that Labor would offer new fathers two weeks parental leave if re-elected, in a bid to win over undecided working families. Labor's full parental leave scheme now offers mothers 18 weeks leave at minimum wage. However for working families this still appears less attractive than the Coalition's scheme which offers 26 weeks at the mother's real wage, up to a cap of $150,000.

Australia waits....

Australian Business one step ahead of the Paid Parental Leave Debate

An article on ninemsn reports that while the major political parties battle over paid parental leave policies in the run up to Saturday's election, Australian employers are already offering some form of paid parental leave.

According to the Paid Parental Leave Pulse Survey conducted by Hewitt Associates last month, 71 percent of the organisations surveyed already offer fairly generous paid parental leave, with 36 percent given 12 or more weeks.

However, some are not yet sure how to address this issue, with over half (57 percent) of the respondents undecided about what changes they will make to their paid parental leave policies.

Tim Powell, Hewitt Associates Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand, said: “As the major political parties battle-it-out on paid parental leave policy, a third of companies are waiting for the election outcome before they commit to implementing company policy”.

Nevertheless, Powell advises that Hewitt’s research has found that on the whole, Australian businesses lead the way in recognising the role paid parental leave plays in retaining an experienced and motivated workforce.

“This survey has found that irrespective of federal policies and politics, the majority of Australian corporates are already offering paid parental leave; seeing it as a competitive advantage to attract and retain talent in an increasingly tight labour market”.

“However, with different timeframes being thrown around by the Coalition, Labor and the Greens, some organisations are unsure of what best practice is and how to implement it.”

“Depending on the outcome of the coming election, we expect these companies will review paid parental leave policies and payments, to maintain this as a differentiator beyond what will be required under federal legislation.”

For more information on Hewitt Associates or to access their reports see: http://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/AP/en-AU/Default.aspx

Mitrefinch’s Time and Attendance system is a powerful tool for analysing and managing employee time and the associated costs. Record unplanned absences, holidays and paid parental leave, building a yearly absence profile for further analysis. A built-in current and projected manpower planner allows management to act or plan work schedules according to available resources, skills sets etc...

For more information contact Mitrefinch on 1300 884 831, sales@mitrefinch.com.au or visit us online at http://www.mitrefinch.com.au/