Compliance with labour laws is an essential part of operating a business in Australia.
The Fair Work Ombudsman’s role is to work with employees, employers and the community to educate and encourage compliance with Australia’s workplace laws.
Regularly monitoring the awards that apply to your business and updating payroll systems is essential to ensure that your organisation doesn’t experience the situation faced by Australian Unity. In their case, employees were underpaid entitlements owed under enterprise agreements, state awards and the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 between 2014 and 2021.
Breaches related to penalty rates, minimum engagements, overtime, travel time, higher duties, leave accruals and superannuation.
The payroll errors were identified during a proactive payroll compliance self-audit. Its review found various causes, including system and set-up errors; rostering and manual processing errors; incorrect interpretation of obligations; and inadequate training and payroll processes.
Being proactive is the best way to avoid problems. Contact our experienced Toowoomba Employment Lawyer Michelle Cowan if you need advice or assistance to review your payroll compliance.
This publication has been carefully prepared, but it has been written in brief and general terms and should be viewed as broad guidance only. It does not purport to be comprehensive or to render advice. No one should rely on the information contained in this publication without first obtaining professional advice relevant to their own specific situation.
