One of the biggest challenges facing small, medium and large businesses is ensuring you are compliant with your obligations to staff when it comes to relevant Awards and Enterprise Agreements.
For instance, are you sure you are correctly paying your staff in line with the recent wage increase from July 1st? Changes to minimum wage and superannuation happen annually, and the onus is on employers to ensure they are keeping up to date.
Human Resources and Workplace Relations Audit
The last thing any business wants is to accidentally cause workplace relations issues between employers and employees. Workplace laws change regularly, and the consequences from the Fair Work Ombudsman can be severe. An external Human Resources Audit from an HR and Workplace Relations consultant will ensure you are fully compliant with all your obligations.
Keeping up to date with modern Awards and enterprise bargaining agreements is one of the core HR functions of any business, however not every business can afford a dedicated Human Resources department. An external HR audit will ensure your business fulfils its obligations regarding employment laws and national employment standards, as well as reviewing procedures, documentation and systems, and ensuring you are not exposing yourself to workplace relations issues like unfair dismissal.
Questions we answer when we conduct an HR Audit
- Does your company pay your employees at least the relevant Award or Enterprise Agreement minimum rates of pay?
- Does your company know or aware that all its employees are paid correctly and not underpaid?
- Are your employees covered by the relevant Award?
- Are your employees correctly classified?
- Does your company ensure that all employees receive all award entitlements?
- Has your company recently conducted an audit in regards to Award coverage, employee classification and rates of pay?
- Are your employees’ Contracts of Employment reflect the current requirements of the Fair Work Act and community standards?
- Does your company have Position/Skill Descriptions for its employees? If so, do they reflect the employee’s current duties?
- Does your company have appropriate Policies and Procedures in place? Are the employees aware of these Policies and procedures and have the employees been trained in respect of them?
ROLE OF THE FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN
The Fair Work Ombudsman, (FWO), is an independent statutory Australian Government agency that serves as the central point of contact for free advice and information on the Australian national workplace relations system.
The Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman also investigates workplace complaints and enforces compliance with national workplace laws.
The Office of Fair Work Ombudsman’s investigations are generally related to rates of pay. The Ombudsman’s role is to determine whether there is a case to answer in relation to the correct payment of Award rates of pay, has an underpayment occurred and whether the underpayment has been due to error or was intentional.
Recently, the Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman has increased the number of prosecutions in Court which result in the employer being ordered to back pay all underpayments and the employer being fined substantially for breaches of the Award and or Fair Work Act. It is usual for the fines to be greater than the underpayments.
If you’re not 100% sure you are compliant, it might be time for an independent HR audit.
Craven and Associates conduct Human Resource and Workplace Relations audits to investigate whether your company is meeting its legal obligations with the Fair Work Act 2009, relevant Award(s), Occupational Health and Safety Acts and other applicable instruments.
With over 30 years of experience in Workplace Relations, Neil and his team can provide a cost-effective audit that will leave you feeling confident that you are meeting your HR obligations.
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