I often visit small and growing businesses to discuss with them their people management needs. Their need is a very simple one - "I just want to treat my people right and make sure I am compliant". Unfortunately,until recently, that need could not be addressed in a simple manner and many employers would place the need in the "too hard" basket.   read more

The Federal Government has introduced into parliament its second tranche of legislation amending the Fair Work Act. The changes to the Act include new responsibilities for the Fair Work Commission in regards to Workplace Bullying by introducing a new avenue for a employee to complain about Workplace Bullying. The bill allows a worker who believes they are being bullied at work to apply to the Commission for an order to stop the bullying. read more

We are delighted to announce an important milestone in our business. As of Monday the 4th of February 2013, People Smartz Pty Ltd will be partnering with enableHR to provide implementation and training support to Xero Accounting practices. Xero is an ASX listed online accounting and payroll tool that has rapidly gained acceptance with leading chartered accounting practices and book keeping groups. read more

We are pleased to announce the release of the February 2013 WebinHR program. Designed for small businesses, these seminars are presented by some of the best in the business and this month cover topics such as managing bullying, reducing labour costs, accessing government funding for training and simplifying recruiting.  read more

At People Smartz we receive a large number of phone calls and website hits every month from clients, ex-clients and others requesting information regarding Small Business HR Issues. We have been keeping records for sometime about the questions asked, however, for the first time this month, we have decided to publish the top 5 topics based on the questions asked.  Our top five for the last month are: read more

Occasionally at People Smartz we see trends beginning to develop in regards to the areas we are asked to assist businesses. At the moment, we seem to have a "run" on businesses approaching us to assist with issues that have arisen as a result of working from home arrangements. Over the last three months, we have assisted a number of businesses and organisations to "sort out" these arrangements.  The majority of these businesses were not for profit and run by a "volunteer" executive or elected officials.  Over time, the nature of these businesses had resulted in there being a lack of awareness in regards to the activities of employee/s of the business - in one case, the Executive did not even really know the physical address of their "office"! read more

It is becoming more and more apparent, that no matter how small your business is, you can not avoid your obligations in regards to meeting your employer obligations. Many thanks to our great friends at Brands Law for this great example of the line of thinking to which our courts are dealing with breaches of the Fair Work Act: read more

It appears that we are finally starting to see some real pressure being put on the Opposition to provide a real policy difference between the parties in relation to industrial relations.  Even Heather Ridout, once a supporter of the Fair Work Act, has recognised the need for debate in this area. And it is about time too! The Fair Work Act does not balance the playing field in industrial relations and is providing disincentives to small and medium sized businesses.  It is complex and a minefield for players in the game who do not have the time, resources or knowledge to manage it. read more

A recent case before Fair Work Australia has emphasied the importance of employers having a fair and published process in regards to handling disciplinary problems with staff. The case (Michelle de Leon v Spice Temple Pty Ltd [2010] FWA 3497, revolved around the "abrupt and quite unprofessional" manner with which an employee had dealt with a high profile customer. As a result of a complaint from the customer, the employee was dismissed from her position. The Deputy President of FWA was very critical of the employer because: read more

The Fair Work Ombudsman has given advice that award wage employees are entitled to the payment of leave loading on termination of employment. read more