Regardless of how many employees you have, it is really important to have them engaged in your workplace.....

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Every day we hear in the news a company being fined for underpayments to workers. There has even been an ammendment to the Fair Work Act for the protection of vulnerable workers.....

When you have an employee who is requesting parental leave, the onus is not just on the employer to ensure all the requirements are managed, employees also have responsibilities in informing their employers of their intentions. This sometimes is missed by both parties, so its best as an employer for you to understand the requirements and ensure that either you or your employees follow these. Image courtesy of nenetus at FreeDigitalPhotos.net It is the responsibility of the employee to notify their employer at least 10 weeks prior to taking parental leave, if not before. Also if the employee wishes to work 6 weeks leading up to the expecting birth date, the employer can request a medical certificate to state the employee is fit to perform work and if they can continue their current position during this time. The employee should also put in writing at least 4 weeks prior to taking leave, the amount of time which they intend to take off. An employee is entitled to take 12 months of unpaid parental leave and also to request an additional 12 months. Questions which are common for business owners at this time is what happens if my employee states they will take 12 months parental leave how do I manage with a replacement. Do I get in a contractor for this time? What happens if the employee says they want to come back to work before the 12 months is up? If an employee wishes to return to work earlier then expected you can assess the request and if it suits the business for this to occur ....

In the small and medium sized business market, it becomes sometimes very difficult to manage your business when an employee takes to much sick leave. There appears to be a fine line between dimissing the employee for excessive sick leave and ensuring that you are not adversely treating your employee.....

If you are a business owner, small, large, or in between, annual leave can be a major liability. If you do not manage it properly, it can become a problem. When wage rates go up every year, so does your annual leave liability. It makes good business sense to manage it.....

Guest Blog.....

It's been a very exciting couple of weeks at HR On Call. We have featured in the Small Business section of the Herald Sun on July 20. Paul Beauchamp was written an article on "Dialling up HR help". In this article one of our clients is quoted as saying "outsourced HR is the perfect solution for a company of 20. We are not big enough to justify someone full time, but we want to make sure we're doing everything right from a legal perspective" Peter Williams Co founder Infiti Telecommunications.....

You would be aware of what’s going on in the news with regards to the underpayment of wages. Some of the biggest brand names have faced the Fair Work Ombudsman’s scrutiny with regards to this topic and some of these include; Coles, Woolworths, McDonalds and 7-Eleven.....

The Fair Work Commission’s has announced its seventh annual wage review under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). Australia’s minimum wage workers are now entitled to be paid $672.70 (this is an increase of $15.80) a week, or $17.70 per hour.....