Sham Contracts still rife with two companies set to face court next month

Some companies still aren't getting the message, with two call centre service providers set to face court after the Fair Work Ombudsman accused them of breaking "sham contracting" guidelines.

The organisations in question are being accused of breaching a number of workplace laws, by employing 10,000 call centre workers and door-to-door sales people as contractors, resulting in "massive underpayments".

The Ombudsman defines sham contracting as an employer disguising or misrepresenting an employment relationship as an independent contracting arrangement, thereby avoiding employee entitlements such as minimum pay rates and leave entitlements.

Speaking at the Australian Industry Group's workplace conference earlier this week, Fair Work Ombudsman Nicholas Wilson, stressed that while hiring independent contractors is not illegal, if an organisation sets out to evade their workplace relations responsibilities, by using commercial processes to find a business partner who will undercut established minimum wage rates, then that may be considered unlawful.

"The pretence that commercial negotiations can procure below award wages or that the cover of an ABN can avoid an employment arrangement are merely that – pretences. And they are pretences that can have significant consequences," he added.

In March, the Ombudsman warned that it would be cracking down on sham contracting in the health and beauty, cleaning, and call centre industries.

That same month, a Brisbane call centre company and its director were fined $214,500 for sham contracting and underpayments while the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union also threatened industrial action against developers and builders that engage staff as ''sham contractors'', which is believed to account for up to 168,000 workers (See Blog Post: Employers shirk Employee Obligations).

Read the full story: http://www.smartcompany.com.au/industrial-relations/20110503-fair-work-ombudsman-claims-two-companies-labelled-10-000-workers-as-sham-contractors.html

Avoid your business being branded a sham

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 avoid the stresses of Award Interpretation and Employee Time Management processes.

An effective Employee Time Management System 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 download our Free Guide on How to Choose a Time and Attendance System.

Alternatively feel free to contact Mitrefinch today on 1300 884 831 or email sales@mitrefinch.com.au

A typical day in the life of a HR Professional

Just another day at the office....

You arrive at work, full of a positive energy after the extra long Easter Break - you’re focused, motivated, and ready for today’s challenges.

So far, so good!

8:52am You’ve just opened your inbox – 52 emails, most of them flagged as ‘urgent’ – better get some caffeine into your system.

9:07am Brett from one of the Production Lines has rung in sick. That’s the 5th time within the past 3 months. His Supervisor believes he is deliberately “chucking sickies”, particularly as it’s the day after a public holiday weekend, and wants to start an investigation. He has asked for your advice and Brett’s absence data for the past year.

9:20am You begin researching Brett’s absence documentation. There is a mountain of files and archived emails to go through.

9:45am John from Sales sends you an email, he wants to know his Annual Leave Balance and would like to request a day off on May 2nd.

10:00am You’ve just received an email from a Forklift Operator who hasn’t been paid for his overtime last month.

10:20am A phone call from Jane in Sales enquiring about her Paid Parental Leave entitlements. It's a compulsory obligation for employers to process these payments from 1 July 2011. Need to make sure we fully understand our obligations to both employees and Government.

10:30am Kate from Finance has just handed in her notice, she’s off on a round the world trip and hopes to settle in the UK for a few months. Need to start recruiting ASAP and organise a reference letter for Kate.

11:00am You finally get around to making a start on this month’s payroll which needs to be complete by Friday.

11:15am You can’t focus on payroll as you’ve just had a phone call from a Production Manager informing you that three staff from his department were late today causing a significant delay in an order delivery. Need to look at revising corporate procedures for dealing with lateness.

12:00noon No time for a full lunch break, as you still need to check all your files to find Brett’s absence documentation.

1:00pm Still searching! More new emails and requests to deal with and you’ve had to answer at least 5 phone calls from recruitment agencies.

2:00pm Eventually you get around to the payroll run again. Only 2.5 days left and a number of spreadsheets to go through, as well as taking account of all the Public Holiday penalty rates.

It looks like it's going to be another late evening…

Sound familiar? Then stop pulling your hair out and think about a solution!

A robust Time and Attendance and HR system supports hardworking HR professionals, like you, by monitoring the working time of your employees and automate time consuming administrative tasks, in turn enhancing productivity and providing necessary up-to-the-minute information and reports on employee absence, annual leave entitlements, attendance records etc...

In addition, by eliminating the manual calculation of working hours, an effective Time and Attendance System will greatly minimise the administrative workload involved with payroll processing and help you gain peace of mind regarding compliance with workforce regulations and award entitlements.

An Employee Self Service module would allow your staff to manage their own attendance and holiday information in a controlled, accessible and efficient way. Employees could simply access the system online to view remaining leave, entitlements, and request updates to their personal records without having to bother you or your team.

In addition, all your employee data, files and correspondence are centrally stored, making the filing and retrieving of vital information quick and easy to manage. This information can in turn be used to run reports on past and present data, such as training and development requirements.

Want to find out more?

Stop sacrificing your lunch break to deal with HR issues, download our Free Guide on how to choose the right Time and Attendance System today.

Or feel free to call us on 1300 884 831 or email sales@mitrefinch.com.au to discuss your particular needs in more detail.

Easter Holiday woes for HR and the Payroll Office

Each year, the Easter holiday period raises a number of different employment issues for employers and represents a demanding time for HR and Payroll departments across the country.

Common issues experienced range from an increase in levels of absenteeism among employees, a spike in the number of annual leave applications as this period coincides with the school holiday break, and questions regarding the day or days that have been declared a public holiday by the respective state or territory government.

And as if things weren't complicated enough, this year Easter Monday and Anzac Day both fall on the same day (Monday, 25 April). Nevermind the current NAB problems that may also be reeking havoc with your payroll payments!

According to the NSW Business Chamber, an employee’s entitlement to a public holiday is derived from the Fair Work Act 2009, the relevant state or territory public holiday legislation, the applicable modern award or enterprise agreement, or the employee’s contract of employment.

Easter Public Holidays

To help clear up the confusion below are the days listed by the Act as public holidays for this Easter period, as well as the public holiday declared by the relevant state and territory government as a public holiday for that particular state or territory:

*Good Friday, 22 April - all states and territories

*Easter Saturday, 23 April – all states and territories (except South Australia and Western Australia)

*Easter Sunday, 24 April – New South Wales only

* Anzac Day, Monday, 25 April – all states and territories (except Victoria – observed on Tuesday, 26 April)

* Tuesday, 26 April (Easter Monday) – all states and territories (except Tasmania)

Easter School Holidays

In addition, the following are the listed school holidays over the Easter period in each state and territory

New South Wales and Victoria: Saturday, 9 April – Tuesday, 26 April

Queensland, South Australia and ACT: Saturday, 16 April – Sunday, 1 May

Western Australia: Wednesday, 20 April – Wednesday, 4 May

Tasmania: Friday, 22 April – Sunday, 1 May

Northern Territory: Friday, 22 April – Tuesday, 26 April

Thankfully help is at hand!

For our Mitrefinch Time and Attendance System users we can help reduce the extra pressure normally suffered by the HR and Payroll Office around this period with the following functionality:

Employee Self Service: Employees can check their Annual Leave Balances and Request Annual Leave without having to annoy the HR department

Leave Slots: Allows management to limit how many employees can be off in one day, employees cannot request Annual Leave once the limit has been reached. This feature is particularly useful in times of high demand for holidays like Easter or in the run up to and during the Christmas Break, as well as times of heightened production/activity i.e. January Sales for Retail

Group Absentee Profile: Allows employees to view Leave Slots and whether the limit has already been reached, stopping them from generating requests for leave

Absence Profile: Allows Management/supervisors to enforce minimum notice for absence, and enforce minimum or maximum length for absence

In addition, our powerful Time and Attendance system automates all the payroll calculations , managing all the different pay and penalty rates associated with the holiday period, this information can then be imported to your payroll system – reducing data entry, saving you time and reducing the potential for payroll error.

All you need to do now, is sit back, relax and enjoy all that Easter chocolate!

Are your Admin staff stretched and overworked?

Well, apparently they aren’t the only ones, with new research revealing that three quarters of office and administrative staff in Australia are forced to work outside regular office hours.

And believe it or not, they aren’t just doing it to impress you or senior management. Being “over-stretched” and having too much work to do were cited as the main reasons for staying late in the office.

The study compiled by recruitment firm, OfficeTeam, examined the working habits of 540 administrative professionals across the country. They found that while 76 per cent of recipients admitted to voluntarily working outside their contracted hours, more than half of those questioned said that they felt pressured by their employer to put in extra graft to help keep on top of their workload.

Stephen Langhammer, Associate Director of OfficeTeam explained that, “It is the responsibility of employers to manage their staff’s hours and ensure that they are not burning out at work.” “Managers need to heed the warning signs and look at ways they can alleviate the pressure if their administrative staff are regularly working overtime,” he said.

Interestingly, the survey also revealed that 84 per cent of those questioned said that they sometimes went to work when feeling ill, while one in four were not satisfied with their current remuneration package. Langhammer advises employers who can’t afford to renumerate staff for the extra hours that they are putting in, to instead look at compensating them in other ways, and aim to offer a better work/life balance.

“Whilst alternative work arrangements have obvious health and well-being benefits for employees, there is also a strong business case for equipping staff to work flexibly, as it can boost efficiency and, in turn, reduce the pressure to work overtime and to come into the office when sick,” he added.

Source:http://www.humanresourcesmagazine.com.au/articles/A1/0C06FEA1.asp

How might an automated Time and Attendance System help?

A first step might be to monitor the hours your admin staff are actually putting in at work. An automated Time and Attendance System will allow you to track when staff are working longer hours and if there is a particular pattern i.e. at month or quarter end, every fortnight etc...perhaps you need to hire extra manpower during these busier periods to help elevate the workload inflicted on your admin staff.

If you want to introduce flexible working practices, an automated Time and Attendance System can be customised to match your specific working patterns and legislation, supporting flexi-time and shift work across multiple sites and pay centres, while seamlessly integrating with you other business, HR and Payroll systems.

Web-based and Mobile Time and Attendance applications can be customised to allow remote clocking in from desktop PCs, laptops and the latest smart phones - enabling staff to clock in and out of tasks, appointments and projects whether they are in the office, working from home or out on the road.

In addition, by eliminating the manual calculation of working hours, an effective Time and Attendance System will eradicate the mountain of administrative work involved with payroll processing, and thus saving the Payroll Department from unnecessary stress and hardship as the generate the pay run.

While an Employee Self Service module, would allow your staff to manage their own attendance information in a controlled, accessible and efficient way. Employees could simply access the system online to view their accrued leave, entitlements, and request updates to their personal records without having to bother the HR department.

Want to find out more?

Don’t stress! Simply download our Free Guide on “How to Choose an Effective Time and Attendance System” or call us on 1300 884 831 for more information.

Smartphone use in Australia is going through the roof, how can you leverage this to better manage your workforce?

A new study by TNS Global has confirmed Smartphone usage in Australia is growing at an exceptional rate.

The international study, now in its 8th year, uses an online panel across 43 markets. This year, 34,000 consumers worldwide took part in the survey, with 504 Australian respondents split across gender, socioeconomic background, and age.

"The biggest surprise this year is we're starting to see Smartphone usage go through the roof," TNS director of technology Marcus Pritchard told Marketing magazine.

"HTC, LG and Samsung are also becoming top of mind for replacement phones, we're seeing the death of the traditional phone."

And it’s not just the iPhone, Pritchard says consumers are becoming more open to other Smartphone alternatives as they learn more about them. "It's about the experience that each can deliver," he explains.

However the study does reveal that Australia is still a little behind other developed markets for technology adoption, the quality of mobile service, and data download speeds.

Check out the complete article in the latest online edition of Marketing Magazine.

So how can you leverage this growth in mobile technology to manage your workforce more accurately and efficiently?

New mobile workforce management applications developed for Smartphones, improve workplace productivity by making it easier for supervisors and employees to complete a wide range of work related and administrative tasks from any location, at any time.

By utilising the mobile devices they are already familiar with, employees can clock in/out or on/off specific jobs from remote work sites, request leave, and review their work information in real time.

While supervisors and managers can monitor real time operations and onsite records, check anomalies, approve timesheets, and respond quickly to leave requests. GPS tracking or Google Map functionality also allows supervisors to check where specific clockings were made.

To find out more about Mitrefinch’s Mobile Workforce Solutions and how they can enhance your employee time and attendance, rostering and absence management processes see www.mitrefinch.com.au, call Sales on 1300 884 831 or email sales@mitrefinch.com.au