THE Fair Work Ombudsman has launched its Small Business Showcase, a virtual hub providing a wealth of resources for small business owners seeking information about their workplace obligations.
The showcase starts as the Fair Work Ombudsman’s dedicated small business helpline has received its 500,000th call since it was set up at the end of 2013.
Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James is urging small business owners to participate in the showcase to ensure they are up-to-date with their obligations under workplace law.
“Australia’s workplace relations system is complex and can be hard to navigate, particularly for time-poor small and family businesses,” Ms James says.
“Our experience, backed up by research, is that small businesses can be overconfident when it comes to compliance – failing to check the rules to ensure they have got things right.”
Ms James said successive campaigns undertaken by her agency had shown consistently lower rates of workplace compliance among small businesses when compared to larger businesses.
“Our Small Business Showcase is a great opportunity for small businesses to brush up on their workplace relations knowledge, download practical resources and find out more about the assistance the agency can provide,” Ms James says.
“We take a proportionate and fair approach to enforcement action, but we also expect employers to have checked the rules that apply to them.
“We also need them to promptly rectify any errors and back-pay workers what they are owed when they arise.”
Small businesses should also be aware that changes made by the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Act 2017 have doubled the maximum penalty for failing to keep employee records or issue pay slips to $63,000 for a company and $12,600 for an individual, and tripled the maximum penalty for knowingly making or keeping false or misleading employee records to $12,600 for an individual.
“Too many small businesses are continuing to get the basics wrong when it comes to paying workers correctly and meeting record-keeping requirements,” Ms James says.
Visit www.fairwork.gov.au/smallbizshowcase to access the resources for small businesses.
The showcase covers topics including hiring employees, calculating pay, keeping accurate records and resolving workplace issues.
It also includes six instructional videos demonstrating how small business owners can use Fair Work Ombudsman resources to meet their obligations as an employer.
Employers and employees seeking assistance can also visit www.fairwork.gov.au or call the Fair Work Infoline on 131 394.
