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From floods on the Gold Coast, to fires in the Snowy region of NSW and Victoria, Australian employers really are challenged regularly by natural disasters. Here is a brief rundown of common situations concerning employee entitlements for natural disasters.

We have to close our site due to a natural disaster e.g. due to flood, fire etc.

There are provisions within the Fair Work Act 2009 which cover temporary shutdowns due to events such as natural disasters. Generally, this is where the employee cannot be usefully employed due to the need to close down a site. Such provisions allow an employer to stand down their workforce without pay. Although, in some circumstances, an employer may choose to continue to pay employees once stood down.

A natural disaster can be financially challenging for all parties. Before making the decision to stand down an employee without pay, employers may wish to consider other options such as offering employees to utilise any accrued annual leave entitlements, transferring employees to different sites, or work from home arrangements. Of course, the ability to provide alternative options such as these will always depend on the circumstances at hand.

Note, where there is an Enterprise Agreement or Employment Contract containing stand down provisions which cover the same circumstances, the Fair Work Act 2009 provisions will not apply.

My employee has asked to use personal/carer’s leave due to a natural disaster.

Under personal/carer’s leave provisions, where an employee (apart from a casual) is unfit for work due to an illness or injury or if they need to provide care or support to an immediate family or household member due to illness, injury or in the event if an unexpected emergency, they may be entitled to paid leave.

For example, if an employee becomes ill due to high levels of smoke from bushfires or is required to care for their child due to a school shut down as a result of a natural disaster, personal/carer’s provisions are likely to cover these situations.

Keep in mind that casuals and those who have used their accrued entitlements can take up to two days unpaid personal/carer’s leave per occasion to provide care or support to an immediate family or household member due to illness, injury or in the event if an unexpected emergency.

My employee’s family member has been injured, and they need time off work.

Compassionate leave may be applicable in this situation. All employees are entitled to compassionate leave to spend time with a member of their immediate family or household who has sustained a life-threatening illness or injury, or to take time off after a member of their immediate family or household has died. The entitlement is two days of paid leave per occasion for permanent staff or two unpaid days for casuals. However, employers may choose to provide above the minimum if they are able to.

Can I ask for evidence?

In all cases above, the employer needs to be notified of the leave and may require the employee to provide evidence (such as a medical certificate) to support the leave period.

Take note

The information above is general, and therefore Industryus HR recommends that employers seek advice from an employment relations expert about your specific situation prior to taking action on employee entitlements for natural disasters.

Industryus HR’s advice membership enables employers to contact an experienced HR consultant to discuss these kinds of matters, whenever they may crop up. Give our Gold Coast head office a call on 07 5655 4047 for more information on a tailored membership for your organisation.

Our Gold Coast HR Consultants service the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Cairns, Sydney, Melbourne and anywhere in between.

If you need assistance contact the SES in QLD or NSW.

Engaging a dud outsourced HR consulting company could be financially depleting and it could place your organisation at risk.  Especially if you haven’t done your background research to ensure they have the skillsets your organisation needs.

Let’s be very clear. The HR Consulting Industry is an unregulated industry. Anyone can claim they have the requisite skills and experience and launch their services as an independent HR consultant to unsuspecting businesses. Therefore, companies who are looking to use an outsourced HR Consultant should always do a thorough “interview” process to ensure they are getting a provider who stacks up to their claims.

By considering the following points you can avoid making the wrong decision:

1. Find out how much experience the outsourced HR consulting team has and if this experience is at a senior HR consulting level in a large, complex work environment. Many HR consultants who go it alone, make this decision too early in their careers. They have not yet built up a strong foundation of employment relations knowledge in a real workplace setting, or they have only worked for small companies where their exposure to situations and good mentors were unavailable. Unfortunately, this situation often results in substandard solutions as an independent consultant. You only know what you know, right?

Tip: When doing your research find out more about their pre-consulting career and ensure they have previously worked in a senior HR role within a large, complex organisation.

2. Find out if they really understand HR law. Or are they just claiming they do as a sales hook? Understanding the ins and outs of law and legislation, and how it is applied in a practical sense is vitally important to ensuring your organisation is better protected. A truck driver may know a bit about car engines, but you would take your car to a mechanic to be diagnosed and repaired, right? The same concept should apply when managing your HR – look for specialists in the area you need to focus on, rather than consultants that know a bit about everything. If they cannot talk in detail and ‘off the cuff’ about complex industrial relations issues, then generally it’s a sign they may not have the right knowledge.

Tip: Established companies with 10+ staff should look to engage specialists in a number of areas rather than using a ‘we can do everything for you” provider. This will give you a higher level of expertise for your spend. No-one is an expert at everything. So, we recommend choosing an employment relations specialist for HR compliance and advice,  a WHS expert for your safety needs and a recruiter for recruitment.

3. Find out if your outsourced HR consultant or firm will lock you into a lengthy contract. These lengthy contracts can be 3-5 years which is way too long! No HR provider should lock your business into a contract which is more than two years in length. Often, companies that want to lock you into lengthy contracts are more expensive than necessary, as they provide a range of benefits that you may not ever use or need.

Tip: Take the time to understand how long you are required to sign up for, and look for package options that suit your situation.

4. Find out how the outsourced HR consultant structures contact. For example, are there time limits on phone calls? Is there a certain amount of times you are allowed to call or do you have a bank of time which you have paid for, and what is the fee once you have used your time up? Are these arrangements too complex for what you need?

Tip: Think about how time arrangements might impact you and your business.

 

Industryus HR services established small and medium businesses. We specialise in employment relations using our HR ACE model which focusses on HR advice, Fair Work compliance and improving effectiveness for organisations.

To book a Free Introductory call, please call our Gold Coast head office on 07 5655 4047 or email hello@industryus.com.au

Industryus HR services the Gold Coast region, Brisbane, and from Melbourne to Cairns. Book a Free Introductory Call here.

The human resources approach which sets the foundations for organisational success. 

Industryus’ unique approach provides the specific foundations of human resources which are critical to organisational success. Enable your organisation to be an “HR ACE”.

Many organisations understand the relevance of human resources to the bottom line, and some may have even set HR goals in recognition of this.  But remember, a goal without a plan is just a wish. Our approach aims to clarify what’s important for organisations in terms of advice, compliance and effectiveness, rather than engaging in activities which add little return on investment.

Our approach focusses on three areas; advice, compliance and effectiveness.  When working simultaneously, these three elements help to reduce risk, improve clarity and increase profitability.

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HR ACE MODEL

 

Is your organisation missing the benefits of quality human resources and safety systems? If you would like to find out more, book a Free Introductory Call or call us on 07 5655 4047.

 

Industryus Group Pty Ltd – PRIVACY POLICY

This Privacy Policy sets out our commitment to protecting the privacy of personal information provided to us, or otherwise collected by us, offline or online, including through our www.industryus.com.au (Site). In this Privacy Policy we, us or our means Industryus Group Pty Ltd T/A Industryus HR ABN 55153977060.

Personal information

The types of personal information we may collect about you include:

• your name;
• images of you;
• your contact details, including email address, mailing address, street address and/or telephone number;
• your marital status;
• your age and/or date of birth;
• your credit card details;
• your demographic information, such as postcode;
• your preferences and/or opinions;
• information you provide to us through customer surveys;
• details of products and services we have provided to you and/or that you have enquired about, and our response to you;
• your browser session and geo-location data, device and network information, statistics on page views and sessions, acquisition sources, search queries and/or browsing behaviour;
• information about your access and use of our Site, including through the use of Internet cookies, your communications with our Site, the type of browser you are using, the type of operating system you are using and the domain name of your Internet service provider;
• additional personal information that you provide to us, directly or indirectly, through your use of our Site, associated applications, associated social media platforms and/or accounts from which you permit us to collect information; and
• any other personal information requested by us and/or provided by you or a third party.

We may collect these types of personal information directly from you or from third parties.

Collection and use of personal information

We may collect, hold, use and disclose personal information for the following purposes:

• to enable you to access and use our Site, associated applications and associated social media platforms;
• to contact and communicate with you;
• for internal record keeping and administrative purposes;
• for analytics, market research and business development, including to operate and improve our Site, associated applications and associated social media platforms;
• to run competitions and/or offer additional benefits to you;
• for advertising and marketing, including to send you promotional information about our products and services and information about third parties that we consider may be of interest to you;
• to comply with our legal obligations and resolve any disputes that we may have; and
• to consider your employment application.

Disclosure of personal information to third parties

We may disclose personal information to:

• third party service providers for the purpose of enabling them to provide their services, including (without limitation) IT service providers, data storage, web-hosting and server providers, debt collectors, maintenance or problem-solving providers, marketing or advertising providers, professional advisors and payment systems operators;
• our employees, contractors and/or related entities;
• our existing or potential agents or business partners;
• anyone to whom our business or assets (or any part of them) are, or may (in good faith) be, transferred;
• credit reporting agencies, courts, tribunals and regulatory authorities, in the event you fail to pay for goods or services we have provided to you;
• courts, tribunals, regulatory authorities and law enforcement officers, as required by law, in connection with any actual or prospective legal proceedings, or in order to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights; and
• third parties, including agents or sub-contractors, who assist us in providing information, products, services or direct marketing to you. This may include parties located, or that store data, outside of Australia; and
• third parties to collect and process data, such as Google Analytics or other relevant businesses. This may include parties that store data outside of Australia.

By providing us with personal information, you consent to the disclosure of your personal information to third parties who reside outside Australia and acknowledge that we are not required to ensure that those third parties comply with Australian privacy laws.

How we treat personal information that is also sensitive information

Sensitive information is a subset of personal information that is given a higher level of protection under the Australian Privacy Principles. Sensitive information means information relating to your racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religion, trade union or other professional associations or memberships, philosophical beliefs, sexual orientation or practices, criminal records, health information or biometric information.

Your rights and controlling your personal information

Choice and consent: Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. By providing personal information to us, you consent to us collecting, holding, using and disclosing your personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. You do not have to provide personal information to us, however, if you do not, it may affect your use of this Site or the products and/or services offered on or through it.

Information from third parties: If we receive personal information about you from a third party, we will protect it as set out in this Privacy Policy. If you are a third party providing personal information about somebody else, you represent and warrant that you have such person’s consent to provide the personal information to us.

Restrict: You may choose to restrict the collection or use of your personal information.  If you have previously agreed to us using your personal information for direct marketing purposes, you may change your mind at any time by contacting us using the details below.

Access: You may request details of the personal information that we hold about you.  An administrative fee may be payable for the provision of such information.  In certain circumstances, as set out in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), we may refuse to provide you with personal information that we hold about you.

Correction: If you believe that any information we hold about you is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading, please contact us using the details below. We will take reasonable steps to correct any information found to be inaccurate, incomplete, misleading or out of date.

Complaints: If you believe that we have breached the Australian Privacy Principles and wish to make a complaint, please contact us using the details below and provide us with full details of the alleged breach. We will promptly investigate your complaint and respond to you, in writing, setting out the outcome of our investigation and the steps we will take to deal with your complaint.

Unsubscribe: To unsubscribe from our e-mail database or opt-out of communications (including marketing communications), please contact us using the details below or opt-out using the opt-out facilities provided in the communication.

Storage and security

We are committed to ensuring that the personal information we collect is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the personal information and protect it from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification and disclosure.

We cannot guarantee the security of any information that is transmitted to or by us over the Internet. The transmission and exchange of information is carried out at your own risk. Although we take measures to safeguard against unauthorised disclosures of information, we cannot assure you that the personal information we collect will not be disclosed in a manner that is inconsistent with this Privacy Policy.

Cookies and web beacons

We may use cookies on our Site from time to time. Cookies are text files placed in your computer’s browser to store your preferences. Cookies, by themselves, do not tell us your email address or other personally identifiable information. However, they do allow third parties, such as Google and Facebook, to cause our advertisements to appear on your social media and online media feeds as part of our retargeting campaigns. If and when you choose to provide our Site with personal information, this information may be linked to the data stored in the cookie.

We may use web beacons on our Site from time to time. Web beacons (also known as Clear GIFs) are small pieces of code placed on a web page to monitor the visitor’s behaviour and collect data about the visitor’s viewing of a web page. For example, web beacons can be used to count the users who visit a web page or to deliver a cookie to the browser of a visitor viewing that page.

Links to other websites

Our Site may contain links to other websites. We do not have any control over those websites and we are not responsible for the protection and privacy of any personal information which you provide whilst visiting those websites. Those websites are not governed by this Privacy Policy.

Amendments

We may, at any time and at our discretion, vary this Privacy Policy by publishing the amended Privacy Policy on our Site. We recommend you check our Site regularly to ensure you are aware of our current Privacy Policy.

For any questions or notices, please contact our Privacy Officer at:

Industryus Group Pty Ltd ABN 55153977060

Email: hello@industryus.com.au

Last update: 6 November 2019

State workplace health and safety Acts require that employers provide a safe work environment for employees, and this extends to protecting them from the harm of UV radiation. All employers who have employees at risk of sun exposure during the workday should implement a sun safe policy. Sun protection

Employees are also responsible for a safe work environment by taking care of their own health and safety, not negatively affecting the health and safety of other people and following any reasonable instruction and workplace health and safety policies.

Workers at risk of UV exposure are not limited to working in typical outdoor roles such as those in the building and construction industries. Transport drivers, fitness coaches, surveyors, outdoor events workers, maintenance crews, and telecommunications workers to name a few, are also at high risk of exposure due to the nature of their work. Where any worker has the likelihood of some UV exposure at work, employers should consider implementing a sun safety policy.

Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. This is due to the high levels of UV radiation Australia experiences. Naturally, outdoor workers have a higher risk of developing skin cancer as they are exposed to 5-10 times more UV radiation than indoor workers are.

The recommendations from the Cancer Council stand. In order to be protected against UV radiation damage, the following should occur:

• Slip on sun-protective work clothing (cover as much skin as possible)
• Slop on SPF 30+ sunscreen (apply every 2 hours)
• Slap on a hat
• Seek shade (work and take breaks in the shade)
• Slide on some sunglasses

According to the Cancer Council, all five of the steps used together provide the best protection from the sun.

For employers, there is an obligation to implement appropriate practices to ensure workers who are exposed to the sun during the course of their work day, are adequately sun-protected and their risk is minimised.

For example, your sun-safe policy may cover;

• Scheduling work outside of the peak UV times to minimise UV exposure
• Providing/utilising shade when working and for breaks
• Providing/utilising protective clothing such as long-sleeve shirts, hats and sunglasses
• Providing sunscreen for employees to apply every two hours

Monitoring and management of non-compliance of your sun-safe policy is of utmost importance to ensure worker UV exposure is minimised.

The Cancer Council has written an informative Guide for employers on the topic of Skin Cancer and Outdoor Work. We highly recommend you visit their site and take action to ensure your staff are protected.

Not sure where to start with a sun safety policy? Industryus can tailor a policy to your workforce. Contact us on 07 5655 4047 to arrange a Free Introductory Call.

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Employers that pay an annual salary to their employees covered by an applicable Modern Award will soon be subject to a number of new notification, record keeping and wage reconciliation obligations. These new Fair Work obligations are aimed at ensuring employees aren’t being disadvantaged by annualised arrangements. The new clauses will only be inserted into Modern Awards which already contain an annualised salary clause.

There are 22 Awards which will be affected by the annualised salary changes.  These include;

• Clerks – Private Sector Award 2010
• Banking, Finance and Insurance Award 2010
• Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2010
• Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2010
• Broadcasting and Recorded Entertainment Award 2010
• Contract Call Centres Award 2010
• Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2010
• Horticulture Award 2010
• Hydrocarbons Industry (Upstream) Award 2010
• Legal Services Award 2010
• Wool Storage, Sampling and Testing Award 2010
• Water Industry Award
• Salt Industry Award 2010
• Telecommunications Services Award 2010
• Local Government Industry Award 2010
• Marine Towage Award 2010
• Mining Industry Award 2010Rail Industry Award 2010
• Restaurant Industry Award 2010
• Oil Refining and Manufacturing Award 2010
• Pastoral Award 2010
• Pharmacy Industry Award 2010
• Rail Industry Award 2010

As of 1 March 2020, employees covered by any of the above Awards and who are on an annualised salary arrangement must now be advised in writing of:

• How the annualised salary has been calculated factoring in any overtime or penalty assumptions used;
• The outer limit number of ordinary hours which would attract penalty rates under the Modern Award; and
• The outer limit number of overtime hours which the employee may be required to work in a roster cycle without receiving any excess payment above the annualised salary.

Employers will also be required to make an additional payment to an employee if they work hours in excess of the outer limits specified in their annualised salary arrangement. Further, employers must also keep a record of starting and finishing times and unpaid breaks taken by the employee. This record must then be signed by employees each roster cycle.

To conclude an already onerous process, every 12 months from the commencement of the annualised salary arrangement, the employer must conduct a reconciliation which calculates if the employee has been better off on the annualised salary compared to the relevant Modern Award. If there has been a loss, this must be paid back to the employee within 14 days.

Again, these changes take effect as of 1 March 2020. Therefore, we recommend that employers start preparing now for the changes so that they are compliant and understand their obligations prior to the deadline.

For more information or assistance with managing your Fair Work obligations call Industryus on 07 5655 4047 or book a Free Introductory Call here.

Teacher who slipped on a grape on playground duty has case dismissed

In 2015, Ms Deans was working as a school teacher at Riverside Christian College when she was walking between classrooms and slipped on a grape. She sustained a fractured patella. It was assumed that the grape had been dropped onto the foyer floor by a student collecting fruit from their bag during ‘fruit break’. Work cover

Ms Deans argued that the risk of injury from dropped fruit was a foreseeable risk. In her opinion the College had breached its duty of care by failing to inspect and clean the area after fruit breaks, as it was a high-volume pedestrian thoroughfare.

The College argued that its system to identify and dispose of rubbish was sufficient to safeguard against risks of injury.

The trial judge dismissed Ms Deans’ claim for $350,000, finding the risk of injury was not foreseeable given the lack of evidence of prior incidents, inadequate supervision or other problems with ‘fruit break’ and, irrespective, it was an insignificant risk.

In coming to the decision the trial judge found that the College did not breach its duty of care to Ms Deans because its housekeeping system was reasonable, there was no need to supervise Ms Deans or provide her specific warnings about the relevant risk even if someone had been engaged to inspect the area immediately after the fruit break was concluded, and it was unlikely that a single grape would have been detected. It would have been unreasonable for the College to abolish ‘fruit break’, given its benefits to students.

This case serves as a reminder that, where a risk is foreseeable but highly unlikely to occur, employers are only expected to take reasonable precautions – that is, employers are not required to take every conceivable measure to avoid such insignificant risks.

Work Cover Work Cover Work Cover Work Cover

In order to avoid breaches of Fair Work Commission legislation, it is essential that all employees have access to the National Employment Standards. In 2009 the Fair Work Commission introduced the National Employment Standards within the Fair Work Act 2009.

Below is a summary of the 10 minimum standards. For more detail please visit the Fair Work Commission website. 

Maximum weekly hours

An employer must not request or require an employee to work more than the following hours of work in a week, unless the additional hours are reasonable:

• For a full-time employee, 38 hours
• For an employee other than a full-time employee, the lesser of 38 hours

Request for flexible working arrangements

What are flexible working arrangements?

Examples of flexible working arrangements include changes to:

– Hours of work (e.g. changes to start and finish times)
– Patterns of work (e.g. split shifts or job sharing)
– Locations of work (e.g. working from home)

Who can request flexible working arrangements?

Employees (other than a casual employee) who have worked with the same employer for at-least 12 months can request flexible working arrangements if they:

• Are the parent, or have responsibility for the care of a child who is school aged or younger
• Are a carer (under the Carer Recognition Act 2010)
• Have a disability
• Are 55 or older
• Are experiencing family or domestic violence
• Provide care or support to a member of their household or immediate family who requires care and support because of family or domestic violence

Parental leave and related entitlements

Employees can access parental leave when a child is born or adopted. Parental leave entitlements include:

• Maternity leave
• Paternity and partner leave
• Adoption leave
• Special maternity leave
• A safe job and no safe job leave
• A right to return to old job

All employees in Australia are entitled to parental leave when they have worked for a company for at least 12 months. How the leave is to be taken is detailed in the Fair Work Act 2009.

Annual leave

How much annual leave is an employee entitled to ?

Full-time and part-time employees accrue 4 weeks of annual leave, based on the ordinary hours that they work.

Example: annual leave for part-time employees.

Jane is a part-time employee who works 20 hours per week . She will accrue her leave based on 20 hours per week, meaning she will accrue 80 hours per annum.

How does annual leave accumulate?

Annual leave accumulates from the first day of employment, even if an employee is in a probation period. The leave accumulates gradually during the year and any unused annual leave will roll over from year to year.

Personal carers leave and compassionate leave

Sick and carer’s leave (also known as personal leave or personal/carer’s leave) lets an employee take time off to help them deal with personal illness, caring responsibilities and family emergencies.

Community service leave

Employees, including casual employees, can take community service leave for certain activities such as:

• Voluntary emergency management activities
• Jury duty
• With the exception of jury duty, community service leave is unpaid

Public holidays

Public holidays can be different depending on the state or territory you work in. It’s important to know when public holidays are because employees can get different entitlements on these days. The full list of public holidays can be found on the Fair Work Commission website.

Notice of termination and redundancy pay

Termination

To end an employee’s employment, an employer has to give them written notice of their last day of employment. Notice periods are outlined in the Fair Work Act 2009.

Redundancy

Where an entitlement exists, applicable redundancy pay must be paid to employees who are being made redundant.

Fair Work Information Statement

Employers must give every new employee a copy of the Fair Work Information Statement before, or as soon as possible after, they start their new job. The statement provides new employees with information about their conditions of employment.

 

Above is a summary of the NES only and proper advice should be sought for the application of these entitlements. If you are still unsure of your obligations, consider the Industryus HR membership where you can call us for HR advice whenever you need it.