Have you ever been to a seminar and wondered whether there was a better use of your time?

Well, that happened to me last week when I attended a seminar being run by one of our alliance partners.

The topic was employer rights and obligations under the Fair Work Act.

In the opening minutes, the presenter announced that Australia’s Fair Work Act is over 680 pages and one of, if not the most, complex in the world.

At this point, I was thinking to myself, “That is why we have an alliance with you and I do not need to have anything more than a cursory knowledge of this."

Then something was said that resonated with me and was obviously the reason for me being there.

That was that all employers must do certain things or risk a $10,800 fine per employee. Including:

• Employers should show procedural fairness through employment practices that are fair, reasonable & just.
• Employers have a vicarious liability to educate and train employees about entitlements
• Employees have up to 6 years to lodge adverse action claims against employers. These claims are uncapped.
• Employers should have policies that set out the expectations and boundaries for employees. These should include policies on:

- Conduct

- Safeguard

- Leave

- Grievances

- Discipline

- Performance Management.

This is by no means an exhaustive list and we strongly recommend that you seek advice from specialists in this field.

Achieve Business Solutions are the accountants frankston business owners trust. Please contact our office should you like a referral to our alliance partner who specialises in this area or you would like to discuss how you can prevent incurring the fine of $10,800 per employee.