If you’re an entrepreneur with staff, beware. The Federal Government has changed the rules of employee engagement and is taking a no-nonsense attitude to slackers who don’t play by the new code.

The legislation is called Fair Work Australia but it comes with a bag full of entitlements and expectations that are good for employees but means more work, time and possibly money for employers who comply. On the flipside, those who ignore the new way the employment game has to be played could cop some whopping fines and penalties.

Recently, the New South Wales Business Chamber warned members of a recent Fair Work Ombudsman campaign where 86 hair and beauty salons across NSW and the ACT were audited and it was found that 39 per cent were non-compliant. This included breaches relating to payslips, time-and-wages records and monetary contraventions. Three salons were found to have underpaid 11 staff more than $86,000.

The entitlements
Inside the legislation we find that employees are now governed by the National Employment Standards and Modern Awards system. There are actually five more entitlements under this new system that employers have to be aware of compared to WorkChoices.

The entitlements cover:

1. Maximum weekly hours of work 2. The right to request flexible working arrangements 3. Parental leave and related entitlements 4. Annual leave 5. Personal/carer’s leave and compassionate leave 6. Community service leave 7. Long service leave 8. Public holidays 9. Notice of termination and redundancy pay 10. Provision of a Fair Work Information

Flexible work arrangements

The scariest change for an employer is a provision that allows an employee who cares for children under school age to request flexible work arrangements.
What does this cover? Try changes in hours of work, work patterns or even work locations, which means working from home.

A worker will have to have more than 12 months of continued service, but it’s also an entitlement for casual employees. They must also have more than 12 months service and have a reasonable expectation of continuing regular employment.

The request will have to be in writing, with changes and the reasons detailed. The boss has 21 days to respond and can only reject the idea on “reasonable business grounds”.
Unfortunately, this has not been clearly defined by the Rudd Government but if a business can prove a negative financial impact, an efficiency loss or a customer service problem then it could provide scope for an employer to say no.

Cost and convenience
It will come down to “cost and convenience” the experts say but employers will have to spend time and/or money to tackle this new challenge and they could still come out as a loser.
In the UK where similar labour law entitlements have been enacted, one report says 72 per cent of workers who could access these flexi-work rules actually do.

Do the research and make the changes
There’s quite a lot that employers must get their heads around and such things as a 38-hour week maximum and no 12-month averaging represents a change that has to be recognised. Also the 12-months unpaid parental leave now applies to same sex couples.
By the way, every new employee must be given a Fair Work Information Statement, which outlines these new entitlements but the labour market experts say it would be good risk management to show all employees the new rules of the game.
Finally, with the maximum penalty for any breach is $33,000 for the company and $6,000 per company director, it might be better to know what has to be done before the Fair Work inspectors come knocking on your door.

By Peter Switzer