Biz Momentum Blog

Bullying is rampant in the Australian Hospitality industry and its management that are largely at fault. Many other industries face the same problems.

Believing that in a scarce economy where employees are afraid to complain they indulge in unacceptable and inappropriate behaviours such as:

·         Intimidation and harassment;

·         Blame shifting;

·         Lack of health & safety procedures;

·         Refusal to pay overtime and give rest breaks;

·         Intimating you will have your employment terminated if you make a complaint.

·         Many other matters.

In one high profile issue that involved multiple breaches of health and safety the company concerned appeared to work in collusions with a government department to harass and deprive the worker of statutory rights.

Employers are increasing being brought to task for these behaviours and fines and damages of significant amounts are being offered or settled before the matter goes public.

Bullying and harassment play no part in today’s workplace. For more information visit us at www.biz-momentum.com and contact to see how we can assist your business manage these risks.

We answer some of your questions regarding sick leave.

Q

Is employee sick leave cumulative or can it be capped.

A

No, employee sick leave is cumulative indefinitely and can accumulate from year to year.

Q

My employee is on 3 months sick leave do I have to pay them

A

Yes as long as the employee has leave

Q

My employee does not have any accrued sick leave and has taken sick, how do I pay them.

A

You do not have to pay the employee for personal sick leave.

For additional information and assistance contact us at www.biz-momentum.com

With the introduction of the Fair Work Act 2009 all employers have increased obligations when terminating the employment of an employee to ensure they did so within accepted legislative guidelines. 

Employees are now able to allege that their termination and retrenchment was a sham and the onus is on you, the Employer, to prove otherwise. 

At Biz Momentum we have assisted many employers to safely manage legitimate employee terminations and redundancies. We were approached recently to represent an employer in the ‘industrial commission’. The employer was vindicated having conducted the retrenchment within legislative requirements. However we noticed that the process to prove their innocence was protracted and time consuming. 

There are lawful and legitimate ways to protect your business – if you don’t get a termination of employment right expect to be seriously out of pocket.  Visit us at www.biz-momentum.com for further assistance and contact details.   

Recently we were asked if you could safely terminate an employee still on probation while on legitimate sick leave having lodged a worker’s compensation form from their Doctor.  The short answer is NO. Why, discrimination. 

Visit us at www.biz-momentum.com for further assistance and contact details.

On the 8^th and 9^th of November 2009 a senior associate of Biz Momentum will be passing through Kuala Lumpur. 

Should you be interested in speaking with us visit us at www.biz-momentum.com for contact details.

The Australian Taxation Office’s Tax Determination for travel allowances for the year 2009 – 2010 can be found in the attached PDF.