Is Your Business Prepared for Fair Work?
February 3, 2010
by Caroline McAuliffe, ExeConnect and Virtual Angels
There have been a few alarming reports of late regarding the shock in store for small to medium-sized business this year. Apparently fewer than half of Australia’s small businesses are adequately prepared to deal with the further round of family friendly workplace laws that took effect from 1 January 2010.
A recent survey of 352 small and medium businesses found many were ill-prepared to deal with the third industrial relations regime in four years. The final stage of the Fair Work Act became effective on 1 January.
The new laws include a ‘modern awards’ system and 10 new national employment standards replacing the minimum employment conditions that were part of the Howard government’s Work Choices legislation.
Businesses face compliance obligations and risk fines, says one of the report’s authors, David Griffiths, of the consultancy CompliSpace.
“What is clear from this study is that a great number of companies remain unaware and unprepared for the substantial changes,” the report says.
“Employers who ignore ‘modern awards’ may be in for a rude shock given that the flexibility clause contained in each award could mean their current common-law agreements no longer insulate them from obligations to pay overtime, penalty rates and leave loadings.”
Among the new national employment standards are:
- the extension from 12 to 24 months of unpaid parental leave that employees can request;
- the introduction of an entitlement to redundancy pay for all workers, not just those covered by awards;
- entitlement for carers of preschool children and children under the age of 18 with a disability to request flexible working arrangements.
Other changes provide for the extension of the definition of de facto partners to include same-sex couples and the removal of the restriction allowing an employee to take a maximum of 10 days carer’s leave in any 12-month period.
Fewer than half of the businesses surveyed know of, understand, or are prepared for the industrial relations changes and less than half understand the compulsory flexibility clause in each award. More than half of the companies surveyed were considered at an extreme or high risk of falling foul of the laws, given their lack of preparation.
The survey identified call-centre employees among those to be covered for the first time by the new awards system.
Administrative staff across all industries could fall under a new clerks/private sector award.
Part-time workers in some industries would also be entitled to shift loading.
The survey covered businesses that employ more than 100,000 staff across 25 industries and was conducted from August 2009 to late last year.
For further detailed information on how this legislation could effect your business please go to www.fairwork.gov.au. Here you will find various information sheets, the answers to FAQ’s and webinars to summarise and inform you on all facets of the Act including those pertaining to the following National Employment Standards:
- Hours of work
- Parental leave
- Annual leave
- Personal, carer’s and compassionate leave
- Community service leave
- Long service leave
- Public holidays
- Flexible working arrangements
- Notice periods
- Redundancy
It might also be worth obtaining professional advice from a HR/IR professional who can break down the information for you as to how it pertains and impacts your business, with recommendations as to what processes and procedures you might need to put in place to ensure compliance in your business and to avoid hefty fines.
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Caroline McAuliffe - ExeConnect and Virtual Angels
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| Phone: | 0415 623 122 |
| Email: | caroline@execonnect.com.au |
| caroline@virtualangels.com.au | |
| Twitter: | www.twitter.com/ExeConnectAu |
| Blog: | virtualangelsau.blogspot.com www.execonnect.com.au/blog |
| LinkedIn: | au.linkedin.com/in/carolinemcauliffe |
| Member Profile: | See Caroline’s Member Profile |
ABN meets Minister for Small Business - A review of top issues
February 2, 2010
As the peak representative organisation for female entrepreneurs and businesswomen in Australia, the ABN is in regular contact with politicians whose portfolios include areas of relevance to its members.
Last week, ABN Advisory Board member Susan Wareham McGrath met with the Honourable Dr Craig Emerson MP, Federal Minister for Small Business, to discuss issues raised by members in response to the ABN’s recent invitation to submit input to the agenda.
Dr Emerson and Susan discussed a range of topics including:
- Dr Emerson’s thoughts about the future of small business in Australia
- What the Rudd government is doing for small business
- Industries poised to grow in the short to medium term
- Programs and initiatives to support women in business and
- Trends Dr Emerson sees for small business during 2010
Overall, the message was a positive one.
Dr Emerson believes small business has a strong future in this country; and made a point of acknowledging the contributions made by SMEs to help the Australian economy through the downturn. He mentioned in particular their retention of staff, which put a floor under unemployment in Australia, thereby contributing socially as well as economically, as the scourge of unemployment can last for a long time.
In terms of the contribution of the Rudd Government to small business in Australia, Dr Emerson discussed the impact the Government’s stimulus package has had on small business. In this context, he highlighted the original cash payments, which helped stimulate the economy at a critical time by helping to avoid negative growth for two quarters in a row. If not for the stimulus he said, economic analysis indicates that the difference would have been a recession
Dr Emerson sees retailing and tourism as growth industries. They will be driven by our strong population growth, which is higher than expected, due to natural increase and our strong immigration program. To remain competitive, Dr Emerson believes that retailers will need to develop innovative ways of reaching customers, particularly the youth market; and that business in general should not underestimate the digital revolution.
He predicted that tourism and associated industries will also grow over the next few years, with online tourism, to an extent, being one area in which we could do better, as our strong reliance on Australia’s natural assets has made us not as sharp as we could be in this area. The tourist industry should take advantage of the digital revolution, to promote Australia strongly as a tourist destination - particularly to China and India, where economic growth is leading to the development of a large middle class, keen to holiday overseas.
While the Government does not plan to provide specific funding or programs to assist women in business, its new broadband network will enable home-based businesses, of which women run the majority, to reach far more customers, and consequently achieve greater growth. In addition, the Government will continue to work to increase the economic context for small business to develop and focus on growth.
The main trend Dr Emerson sees for small business during 2010 relates to workforce issues. Shortages of skilled staff will re-emerge in some states, particularly in Western Australia, where business organisations are already discussing staff shortages. Consequently, the attraction of working in Western Australia will result in a shifting workforce from other states, with a flow-on effect of creating some shortages in those areas
The full transcript of Susan’s interview with Dr Emerson will be published in the Summer 2010 edition of our herVoice Business Briefing.
Suzi Dafnis
Community Director
Australian Businesswomen’s Network
South Australian Taxes Highest for Business
December 29, 2009
Today’s Australian newspaper reports that research by the Institute of Public Affairs has found South Australia is the highest taxing Australian jurisdication for business.
Queensland continues to slide in its competitiveness, while WA has the most favourable taxation regime for business.
The report’s author, IPA research fellow Julie Novak, says that tax reform should be a priority for all governments in the current low-growth economic environment.
The ABN has long been advocating for fiscal and economic public policy reform to assist small business; particularly those owned by women.
We would welcome your input and ideas about public policy reform, or any other issues relating to the small business environment, so that we can raise them at our next meeting with Senator Craig Emerson, the Minister for Small Business.
Please post your input below, or email to policy@abn.org.au.
Pay gap between women and men comes under scrutiny
November 30, 2009
ANY employer, including small businesses, would need to disclose what female staff earn relative to men to a Pay Equity Unit with a ‘’sticks and carrots” approach to solving the gender pay gap, a Federal Government report recommends.
Describing the main industrial relations system as ‘’steeped in gender assumptions”, the committee chaired by the Labor MP Sharryn Jackson found most women worked in low-paid and casual work that was reliant on the minimum wage and award safety nets, and wants the ”modern” awards also re-examined on gender grounds.
The Committee found that Australian women are paid on average 17 per cent less than men because of social assumptions about the role of women as parents, because women disproportionately work in part-time and casual work and because typically female ”caring” work is undervalued.
Plain sex discrimination was also to blame.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald www.smh.com.au
Comment:
Ms Jackson and her committee seem to me to have based their argument on a somewhat shaky foundation. If one works in a low paid or casual job, one will obviously earn less than someone who works full-time in a highly paid job. I don’t see that as discrimination, or a gender assumption, just a pragmatic example of cause and effect.
And although I agree that caring work is undervalued, I would argue that is the result of market forces of supply and demand, rather than discrimination.
The answer? To educate ALL children about the commercial realities and long term implications of their work and life choices at an early age, so they are able to make informed decisions at each of their life transition points.
Susan Wareham McGrath
What is a small business? The ATO explains.
September 7, 2009
In response to a common question being asked at the moment, the ATO has advised as follows:
The tax office definition of a small business is: an individual, partnership, trust or company with aggregated turnover less than $2 million. An aggregated turnover is your annual turnover of any businesses you are connected or affiliated with.
If your previous year’s aggregated turnover (gross income not net profit) was $2 million or less, you are a small business for the current year. If one of your last two year’s aggregated turnover was less than $2 million, you can estimate that your current year will be $2 million or less.
These allow you, as a small business, to access the various PAYG Instalments, GST, CGT, FBT and income tax concessions.
What is your worst Red Tape experience?
July 28, 2009
Opposition launches campaign for nominations.
Small business owners are being urged to nominate the worst, most idiotic, piece of red tape they have experienced as part of a campaign launched this week by the Leader of the Opposition Malcolm Turnbull, and Shadow Small Business Minister Steven Ciobo.
As part of its target to reduce red tape in Australia to the lowest level of all developed economies, the Coalition is on the hunt for the most diabolical piece of red tape nationally.
Mr Ciobo says that the last thing small business needs right now is “mindless, bureaucratic red tape”, when it is grappling with cash flow stress, industrial relations changes and the toughest lending conditions since the credit crisis of the early 1960s
herVoice commends the Coalition’s initiative and will be waiting impatiently for the announcement of the winning experience, but in the interests of balanced reporting has to ask – which party was it that implemented most of this current “mindless, bureaucratic red tape” during its term in Government?
Enough said.
Click here to nominate your experience, or tell us about it in your response to this post and we’ll include it in our submission.
Best Industries to Start a Business Right Now
June 8, 2009
Inc magazine’s The Best Industries to Start a Business Right Now -lists 18 industries poised for growth.
herVoice is proud that so many ABN members have already identified those opportunities and are growing successful businesses in those areas.
Seeing what these entrepreneurial women have achieved with little or no government assistance at all, leads herVoice to wonder what Australia’s SME sector could be achieving now if the Rudd Government hadn’t wound up the previous Government’s Commercial Ready program.
Over its life, Commercial Ready gave billions of dollars of support to innovators and helped many Australians launch businesses that in turn provided employment to tens of thousands.
The Govt’s replacement programs are tailored to assist only a few select industries and are focused more on addressing social policy imperatives than on supporting the growth of Australia’s SME sector.
Small Business Tax Break Update
April 17, 2009
The Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research recently updated the ABN on the progress of the Small Business and General Business Tax Break announced on 3 February.
We were interested to note the example provided by Sen Carr of a tradesperson who purchases a $30,000 utility before the end of the financial year being able to claim an additional $9,000 deduction in their 2008-09 tax return (as as long as they used the vehicle primarily for business purposes).
With its stipulation that eligible assets have to be purchased before the end of the financial year to get the full 30% bonus deduction, it looks a little like a de facto last minute economic stimulus strategy wrapped in a tax break’s clothing to herVoice - but as long as small business benefits, we really don’t mind what the Govt calls it!
The legislation is still before Parliament, but anyone wishing to find out how it will impact on small business if it’s passed in its current form, can click on this link to access a list of frequently asked questions.
Are you fighting reality or really creating something new?
April 2, 2009
Are you trying to improve on something, to make it just that little bit better, or a lot better?
Are you trying to be a better marketer, write a better brochure, improve on a system, or do something better than your competition?
For some reason, quotes by the scientist/futurist R. Buckminster Fuller have popped up in my reality a few times lately. Most recently, 2 days ago, he was quoted in an article I was reading. Today, while listening to the audio book version of Crowd Sourcing I heard this quote of his:
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
R. Buckminster Fuller
So, I’m following my gut (though I’m not exactly sure what my gut is saying). I’m stopping to explore what he’s saying.
Many of us (me included) mostly create our future from trying to improve on what is there.
What if instead what we created was something so radical that it made the existing model obsolete?
R. Buckminster fuller's best-known design | The Geodesic Dome
Why your small business is a vital part of the economy
March 22, 2009
This weekend’s Weekend Australian newspaper includes a story titled: Viability Aside, New Enterprise is Vital to a Strong Economy
Australian Businesswomen’s Network member Cathy Cousins and I participated in this interview a number of weeks ago. In fact, Cathy referred the journalist to me (a great networker she is!).
If anything, the advice that I share on the importance of Networking, Education and Mentoring are even more relevant today than just a few weeks ago.
The Weekend Australian - What's important for small business
Here’s an expansion on what are quoted as my ‘golden rules’. They work, regardless of the economy!
Education: I truly believe that education is the cornerstone of success. Importantly it doesn’t have to be tertiary, academic education. Just figure out where your knowledge-gaps are and read online, download audio books, buy paper books, attend seminars, webinars etc. etc….
Now is a great time to upgrade your skills. The way that small businesses can do business has changed, partly because of the technology that is available to us. Do you understand, for instance, how social media and social networks can help you grow your business? (Here’s an interview I did recently for BNet TV on Networking without leaving your desk that may help.)
Mentoring: I’m very passionate about mentoring as a tool for business. That’s why the Australian Businesswomen’s Network’s (ABN) MentorNet mentoring program for women is something that I ‘harp on’ about and encourage women to participate in. A structured mentoring program (regardless of your gender) will introduce you to education, experience and networks that will help propel your business knowledge and your confidence. What’s the role a mentor? Here’s our definition.
Networking: Right now, when so many people are experiencing hurdles in business they’ve never had to face (and even for those that are sailing smooth), who knows you is more important than who you know. I again, encourage you to stay connected with those that matter, join new groups/networks of like-minded people with whom you can share ideas and resources, and be network-worthy i.e. rather then seeing what is in every situation for you - see how you can contribute
These rules have been the underlying foundations for me from when I first started my career. I believe they still hold true.
The Weekend Australian article also quoted ABN member Cathy Cousins of Sweet Little Things.
