People Smartz Blog

Over the last two days we have seen one of the final institutions of Work Choices demonstrate one of the basic differences between Work Choices and our new Industrial Relations laws.

The Fair Pay Commission has decreed that there will be no increase in the minimum adult wage.  The Fair Pay Commission is a Work Choices Institution given responsibility for the setting of minimum wages etc.  When making decisions regarding minimum wages, the Fair Pay Commission is required under the Work Choices Legislation to take into account the economic effect of any wage increase on the Australian economy.  It is also required to take into account the effect of tax cuts or additional family payments that may have occurred in the period since its last decision.

Given the current economic environment, the raising level of unemployment, recent tax cuts, the introduction of stimulus handouts etc it is not surprising that, given its legislative instructions, the Commission decision was for no increase at all.  It was felt that increased wages would result in additional pressure on small business with an increase in the unemployment rate likely.

The new wage setting body, Fair Work Australia, is beginning now to look at Modern Awards for implementation from 1 January 2010.  It will also be responsible for setting the next minimum wage increase.   Fair Work Australia’s main objective in this regard is to “establish and maintain a safety net of fair minimum wages”.  In performing this objective it must also take into account the performance and competitiveness of the national economy.

It remains to be seen how the new body will operate in this respect, but judging by the reactions of the two different sides of politics and industry it’s going to be an interesting ride....

A few blogs ago, I told you about the new unfair dismissal laws and how they affect small business.

The new legislation becomes law on Wednesday, 1 July.  With these laws comes a revamp of the Australian Industrial Relations Framework.  With Australia's political landscape this is not really new - it regularly changes with changes of government!

As already stated, the new laws change the unfair dismissal laws.  Other areas that are affected are:

• The expansion of Workchoice's 5 minimum standards of employment to a 10 minimum standards.  With the new modern awards, these will form the new Safety Net for employees from 1 January 2010
• A change to the definition of small business
• Increased Union Right of Entry into workplaces for investigation, discussions and OH&S matters
• Significant changes to the manner in which industrial relations is governed with the creation of Fair Work Australia - a one stop adviser, mediator and arbitrator of the new laws.
• The abolition of AWA's (no surprise there!)
• An "emphasis on enterprise level collective bargaining underpinned by simple good faith bargaining obligations"
• The introduction of an additional discrimination jurisdiction under the Fair Work Act.
• Redundancy and Termination changes including the setting of minimum redundancy payments and notice periods 
• Maternity and Paternity Leave

With these new laws it becomes more important than ever to ensure your workplace has procedures and policies in place to respond to employee complaints and lay down expectations in the event of a dispute or issue.  In addition, you employment agreements may now contain clauses that contradict the new laws.  I recommend strongly that you seek some assistance to ensure you are ready!

Should you need any further information on the new laws, contact People Smartz and we will be happy to assist.

It is now under two weeks until the new Industrial Relations Laws take effect.

Small Businesses are effected by these new laws - yet recent survey's have shown that only 5% of Australian businesses are prepared for the changes!

One significant change to the laws are those concerning unfair dismissal.

The dismissal of an employee, for whatever reason, is an unpleasant thing.  Regardless of the reason, the dismissed employee is likely to feel hard done by and aggrieved.  It would be a very unusual employee who accepts a dismissal without some sort of hard feeling!

Many small business owners I speak to believe that because they have less than 15 employees they are not effected by the unfair dismissal provisions of the new law.  While this is technically right - it does not mean that small business can not be subject to a claim for unfair dismissal.

Under the new laws, small business must follow the "Fair Dismissal Code for Small Business" when dismissing an employee to protect themselves against a claim for unfair dismissal.  This does not stop an ex-employee from making a claim, but if you have followed the code then you may be protected from the ramifications.

So, the fact is that, as a small business, you can still be the subject of a unfair dismissal claim.  With the associated pain of handling the claim and the unpleasantness it causes, you need to do what you can to protect yourself.

Amongst other things, It is important to ensure you have good performance management systems in place.  If you have dismissed an employee for performance reasons, you need to be able to prove that you have counseled the employee and given them an opportunity to improve.  If you have not done this - then an unfair dismissal claim could be proved and your hip pocket is likely to take a hit!

There are many other things you can do and many other affects that you may not be aware of.  At People Smartz, we offer small businesses in the Brisbane and Coffs Harbour areas the opportunity to have a free risk assessment of their business.  In that assessment, you will learn about some of the other affects the laws will have on your business - and what you can do about it!

If you live outside Brisbane or Coffs Harbour, contact us anyway.  We will pass on your contact details to other members of the HR Coach Network.

To book your assessment - click below:

Free Risk Assessment of Your Staff Systems