Over the next 12 months, Australian employers will face further changes to the minimum safety net of employment entitlements. The Paid Parental Leave Bill 2010 (Cth) received Royal Assent on 14 July 2010, and introduces a national Paid Parental Leave Scheme, which is scheduled to commence on 1 January 2011.
For the first half of 2011, a six-month grace period will apply. In that period employers will be able to “opt-in” to administer parental leave payments, should they choose to do so.
From 1 July 2011, all employers will be obliged to administer the Scheme for their eligible employees.
Overview of the Paid Parental Leave Scheme
The main features of the Scheme are as follows:
Subject to qualifying criteria, full-time, part-time and casual employees will be eligible for parental leave payments.
Paid parental leave will be a government funded “entitlement” calculated at the Federal minimum wage rate, adjusted annually. This rate is currently $569.90 per week for a full time employee.
The federal government have updated the threshold on what amount a person earns before they are considered a high income earning employee and therefore award free. This is effective 1 July 2010.
This means that you must review your agreements where they contain a guarantee of annual income to ensure they comply with the new amount.
For your convenience the NES Fair Work Statement is attached.
For assistance call us at Biz Momentum 61 7 3349 5662 – operating Australia wide.
Reasonable additional hours are additional hours worked each week in access of 38 (or agreed or usual weekly hours for permanent part-time employees’ or casuals) that are considered reasonable after certain factors have been taken into account.
You must consider all the relevant circumstances before deciding if additional hours are reasonable. Some considerations may be:
Are there any health and safety factors in the employee working additional hours?
Philip Lye the Managing Director of Biz Momentum will be in Japan from the 10th June 2010 until 18th June 2010.
Phil will be taking a seminar in Osaka and conducting some meetings in Sapporo.
Earlier this year we participated in meetings in Germany and Switzerland.
Biz Momentum undertakes international assignments from time to time. Why not invite us to speak at your next event. For further information contact us today.
As part of normal business practice today employers are increasingly dependent on employee’s performing their duties by using email and internet technology.
Recent studies have demonstrated that abuse of these systems is rife in the workplace. In one investigation Biz Momentum discovered that one employee had visited over 500 different porn sites in a 6 months period. Employers have an obligation to inform, train and ensure that employees understand their responsibilities and rights in using the employers email and internet systems.
The commonwealth government has introduced a paid parental leave scheme for all eligible Australians. The scheme is scheduled to begin 1 January 2011 and YOU NEED to be aware of your obligations.
While nothing is set in concrete the government recently released draft legislation which is expected to be passed soon. Basically the scheme provides primary caregivers of newborn children with 18 weeks paid parental leave.
Some of the details are:
There will be a phasing in period of 6 months where the draft indicated that the employer will not be required to pay the caregiver and where the caregiver will claim directly from the Family Assistance Office. You will be required to pay eligible primary caregivers from 1 July 2011.
The introduction of Fair Work has brought about many changes that an employer is required to keep abreast of and ensure compliance with.
Most employment agreements are now out of date and now may be a good time to bring your agreements up to date. There are significant penalties for non compliance.
Consider the following;
Do your agreements provide an acknowledgement that the employee has the right to work in Australia.
Under Fair Work there is no statutory limit as to how long a verbal or written warning remains valid. However as a general rule, depending on the severity of the circumstances and the event one to six months is appropriate. In considering warnings there are some things an employer should consider;
Ensure the confidentiality of the warning process as being between only those parties that have involvement in the process.
Employee participation in unions has grown as more employees turn to unions to assist them in improving their pay and conditions. Employers need to be educated about how, when, why and if unions become part of their workplace what their obligations are. Call us to see how we can assist your business ensure that it complies with its employment obligations. Call us on 61 7 3349 5662 working Australia wide