Superannuation Guarantee

From July 1 2014, the Superannuation Guarantee percentage will increase from 9.25 to 9.5 and will eventually rise to 12% by July 2022.

Superannuation Guarantee is the official term for compulsory superannuation contributions made by employers on behalf of their employees. An employer, whether they are a small or large business, must at this time, contribute the equivalent of 9.25% of an employee’s salary.

The new increases are laid out in the table below:


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Financial year	Current rate increase	Proposed rate increase
2013/14	9.25%	9.25%
2014/15	9.50%	9.25%
2015/16	10.0%	9.25%
2016/17	10.5%	9.5%
2017/18	11.0%	10.0%
2018/19	11.5%	10.5%
2019/20	12.0%	11.0%
2020/21	12.0%	11.5%
2021/22	12.0%	12.0%

Save Costs by Perfecting your Recruiting Processes

Perfecting your recruiting process can save you money in many different ways. As the adage goes, time equals money, by streamlining your recruitment process you can save yourself a lot of wasted time and therefore money. Getting your hiring right will save money on training staff that are not going to work out in the long run.

By perfecting your recruitment process, you will get the right person for the job in a shorter amount of time so you’ll stop losing money as a result of having an unfilled position.
Here are some tips for perfecting the recruitment process;

• Develop and prioritize the main requirements needed from the position and the special qualifications and experience you seek in a candidate.
• Develop the job description for the position you are seeking and determine job interview questions in advance.
• Spread word of mouth information within your industry about the position you are looking to fill.
• Screen resumes and applications against the established criteria and qualifications.
• Give candidates a copy of the job requirements to review
• Plan a meeting with the individuals involved in the recruitment process .Have everyone agree on the qualities you are looking for in a candidate.
• Check references. Perform appropriate background checks that include employment references, employment history, education, criminal records, credit history and drug testing.
• Create a documented, systematic hiring process.
• Develop the largest pool of qualified candidates possible. Do this by utilising every tool available to you, Facebook, Twitter etc.
• Train supervisors to give clear direction and expectations, provide feedback and show commitment to staff success.
• Once you have defined the qualities and skills you would most like in a candidate, devise interview questions that allow your applicant to demonstrate that they have the desired skills.
• The use of behaviourally based interview questions can be useful to pinpoint the people you want in your organisation.
• Identify characteristics of your best employees and then develop interview questions to identify these qualities.
• When replacing an position it can be useful to review the role and decide if there are any changes required or certain tasks or roles that were performed by the previous employee that do not need to be performed by the new one.

The people who work in your organisation are, after all, key to its success - so investing in the process is also an investment in the business

How to help those who keep their jobs following redundancies

Often those who remain in an organisation after their colleagues have been laid off experience feelings that can be compared to bereavement. This can have a huge impact on motivation, staff morale and stress levels, which in turn affects productivity and customer service.

Unless the change process is handled appropriately, reduced organisational effectiveness may result. Well planned and supported change processes will counter these consequences.

Staff that have kept their jobs often have feelings of resentment that they have to take on the workload of those who left. This can lead to an increase in stress levels. They also fear that if they fail to keep up with their increased workloads that they may be made redundant also.

Redundancies can lead to a loss of loyalty and trust in an organisation from remaining staff and leave them seeking the first opportunity to leave as they have lost faith in their bosses.

It is important for managers to ensure that staff who survive keep motivated as the company tries to move forward.

Some tips for doing this include –

• Give staff an opportunity to vent, this includes getting them to voice their hopes and fears for the future and acknowledge their worries. It helps to identify practical steps to help them achieve their goals. One of the most common complaints from staff in this situation is that they don’t feel they have been listened to
  
• Keep the lines of communication open throughout the redundancy process. This should help to alleviate some of their fears and reduce workplace gossip
  
• Train managers to look for signs of stress within their staff
  
• Monitor absenteeism and take action promptly if needed
  
• Retrain employees who will be taking on new roles
  
• It is helpful if those who remain in their jobs see that the staff who were made redundant are looked after. Give staff an opportunity to say goodbye, let them know that you appreciate the people leaving and recognise their achievements
  
• Identify one person to act as a change agent to work with staff and other supervisors during the implementation period. Throughout the process it is important that senior management in the organisation are available and present to talk to staff
  
• Staff reductions and restructure present a difficult task for all involved. It can be helpful to use symbols to mark key dates and successful transitions. For example, the creation of a change agent role mark the commencement of the process and the elimination of the same role would mark completion

Tips for boosting staff engagement/happiness

A good way to boost your staff’s engagement or happiness at work is to get an understanding of how your staff feel about their jobs by asking some simple questions, for example, “would you recommend working here to your friends and family? Why or why not? Do you feel valued as an employee?” The responses will give you an indication of the area’s that may need improvement.

Listen to your employees, talk about their issues and make adjustments to address them. Ask them about ideas and suggestions to improve the company.

Be creative when trying to engage your staff. Team building activities promote closeness with employees and can be fun and drive results at the same time. By encouraging employees to work together and help each other you get a closer, more cohesive team.

Recognize the signs of low morale, these include:

• A rise in absenteeism
• Customer service complaints
• Increased conflict between staff members

It can be beneficial to do an exit interview with people leaving the company, they tend to be more honest than those who are still on the job.

To be happy at work most employees benefit from feeling as if they have a meaningful role within the company.

Give staff a clear explanation as to why their job responsibilities are important to the team.
It is also not productive to have your employees stressed from having to large a workload.

Reward staff who work hard and behave ethically at work. These do not need to be financial or material rewards, simple acknowledgement of a job well done can go a long way towards job satisfaction. One of the most neglected acts done by bosses or business owners is the failure to acknowledge the job well done by employees. Positive feedback can motivate staff and make them feel like a valuable member of the company.

Do not tolerate any gossiping, bullying or politics within the workplace .Encourage everyone to support each other and by doing that support the team.

Provide a space where people want to work. Staff will feel more eager to come to work if their work environment is clean and comfortable and provides all the tools they need to do their job efficiently.

Happy workers make a happy workplace. By boosting your workers morale and keeping them loyal to the company you will enjoy increased productivity and profits for years to come.

Proposed changes to the Fair Work Act

The proposed changes to the fair work act the federal government has introduced to parliament could have a significant impact on the existing fair work act if implemented.

To outline how these changes could affect your business, here are some of the main points within the bill and how they could affect your business.

• Extending a period of unpaid parental leave – An employee taking unpaid parental leave under the fair work act, may request to increase their leave for a period up until 12 months. The amendment would require the employer to give the employee the opportunity to discuss the request in person or over the phone before refusing it. The discussion cannot be had by email or sms.

• Payment for unused annual leave – under the Government’s proposed amendment, payment for unused annual leave is to be made at the employee‘s base rate of pay for ordinary hours as applicable immediately before dismissal (unless an applicable modern award, enterprise agreement or employment contract expressly provides for a more beneficial entitlement).  Base rate of pay does not include penalties, loadings, allowances or any other separately identifiable amounts.

• Taking or accruing leave while receiving workers’ compensation - An employee who is absent from work due to workers compensation is unable to take or accrue leave under FW act during the compensation period.

• Transfer of Business -The transfer of business provisions will not apply to the transfer of an employee between associated entities where the employee sought the transfer at their own initiative. The proposed amendments would “switch off” the FW act transfer of business rules when an employee becomes employed by an associated entity of his or her former employer if the employment was sought on the workers own initiative before termination of employment with the old employer.
  
  For example if an employee is looking to progress their career or change their lifestyle and pursues a career opportunity within their own company or affiliated company this would be considered seeking his or her own initiative. If an employee who was made redundant accepted alternative employment this would not be considered his or her own initiative.
  
  Note that this change would only apply to transfer of enterprise agreements and not to continuity of service-based entitlements. The automatic continuity (subject to exceptions) provided in the FW Act when employees transfer between associated entities would continue to apply.

• Fair Work Commission (FWC) hearings and conferences - The proposed amendment would allow the FWD to dismiss an unfair dismissal claim on certain grounds without a hearing. The FWC will be able to do this if the applicant has failed to attend a conference or hearing, comply with a FWC order or discontinue an application after a settlement agreement.
  
  This would also apply where the FWC found the application to be frivolous or had no reasonable chance of being successful. The FWC must invite all parties to provide further information to the FWC to show its use is warranted before exercising this power.

• Individual Flexibility Arrangements - All employees party to an IFA made under a modern award flexibility term would need to sign a 'genuine needs' statement.
  
  Employees entering an independent flexibility arrangement are required to give a written statement indicating why they believe an independent flexibility agreement under a modern award or enterprise agreement meets their needs and leaves them better off.
  
  Individual flexibility arrangements allow for unilateral termination only upon 13 weeks of notice, as opposed to the current 28 days of notice.
  
  The proposed amendments improve the utility of individual flexibility arrangements by requiring enterprise flexibility terms to permit individual flexibility about all five minimum matters listed in the model flexibility term; namely arrangements about when work is performed, overtime rates, penalty rates, allowances and leave loading.

• Greenfields Agreements –The FWA amendment proposes many changes to the Greenfields agreement process intended to avoid employers being convinced to agree to inflated wages and conditions and employment preference to avoid delays in a project. Under the proposed changes, an agreement would provide for pay and conditions consistent with the prevailing standards and conditions within the relevant industry for equivalent work. The FWC may take into account the prevailing pay and conditions in the relevant geographical area.  These changes include the extension of good faith bargaining requirements to single enterprise Greenfields agreements. They also include provisions for an employer to apply to the FWC for an agreement to be approved where the parties are unable to reach agreement in a reasonable period following a three month negotiation period notified by the employer.

• Protected action ballot orders - The Amendment Bill proposes that an application for a protected action ballot order will not be able to made until the employer is obliged to give employees notice of representational rights in bargaining.

• Right of Entry - The amendment bill introduced changes to the right of entry rules regarding the rights of union officials who hold entry permits. The employer will no longer be required to organise transport and accommodation arrangements for permit holders in remote areas.
  
  Interviews with employees by union officials or permit holders must be held in an area agreed between the business and the permit holder or in the place the business employees take lunch breaks. The FWC will also be able to deal with disputes regarding the frequency of visits by permit holders.

4 simple steps to HR success in 2014

1.  Make sure Everyone has a Clear Job Description

Make sure everyone is aware of what their specific roles and duties are within the work place. People generally perform better when they know what is expected of them.

Having a clear role or job description allows your employees to be accountable for their work.

Having specific tasks for each employee allows staff to take pride in their work. Jobs may get overlooked if they are not assigned to one person as everyone will assume that someone else is doing it.

2.  Be Clear when Communicating

Be careful to clarify directives. Miscommunication can lead to confusion and hostility in the workplace. Pay close attention to how your staff communicate with each other and take steps to improve communication where needed. This can save you time, money and give you a more harmonious workplace.

Ensure that all staff are aware of the importance of each members contribution and demonstrate how everyone’s roles work together to achieve their goals.

Communication is the single most important factor in successful teamwork.

3.  Have Clear Workplace Policies

Have clear policies in place that cover important issues such as:

• Bullying
• Sexual harassment
• Drug and alcohol abuse
• Workplace behaviour
• Health and safety

Having clear policies in place allow staff to know what is acceptable in the workplace and what is not. Make sure your staff are aware of the consequences of straying from these policies.
Be fair and consistent when dealing with staff that have gone against company policies.
Having policies in place can make it more difficult for staff to bring claims against you.
Lawsuits fines and penalties affect the financial health of your business.
Create employee manuals that outline appropriate behaviour in the workplace.

4.  Keep employee contracts up to date

Make sure that all your employees have a legally compliant contract of employment.
Signed contracts can avoid conflict regarding a person’s employment status, wage and benefits.
Small businesses usually create formal, written employment contracts that dictate the specific terms of their employment agreements.

An employment contract helps protect the long-term interests and well-being of both parties. An employment contract provides a formal (and legal) record of both parties' expectations and agreements at the time of hire.

Employment contracts don't have to be overly long and complicated; in fact, the clearer and briefer the contract, the better. A standard contract can be created for all employees and customised for specific jobs.

How to implement a drug and alcohol policy

Drugs and alcohol in the workplace can be an especially delicate topic. Problems in this are department can have an adverse impact on business. Strategies are available for employers to implement and can be required by law. Different policies include:

• Written
• Employee assistance programs
• Drug testing

Drug and alcohol abusers among employees account for increased absenteeism, more on-the-job injuries to themselves or others, and lower productivity. This means higher costs for businesses through:

• Sick leave
• Overtime pay
• Insurance claims
• Being late
• Workers' compensation
• Friction among workers
• Damage to equipment
• Bad decisions
• Negative impact to the business's public image
• Employee turnover

Statistics suggest that this can cost approximately 6 billion dollars annually. Businesses may choose to adopt a policy for these reasons. Even if you do not want to adopt an all-out drug and alcohol abuse program, you may want to implement strategies you feel can be effective in fighting substance abuse in your work place.

When developing a drug and alcohol policy in your work place it is important to:

• Establish a representative group to formulate and implement the policy

The group established to manage the development of the policy should include workers’
representatives, safety and health representatives and management representatives.

• Develop the policy through consultation with all workers

The policy should be developed using the input an involvement of all workers and consultation with employee and employer organisations. Effective communication strategies that ensure regular consultation and feedback to workers should be adopted. This gives workers a sense of participation and ownership of the policy, making it more likely to succeed.

• Ensure there is clear communication and provision of information throughout the development stage

To ensure a successful policy it may be necessary to reassure the workers and overcome any anxiety they may be feeling about it.

Employers should let the workers know that the business values them and is committed to responsibly responding to the issue of alcohol and other drugs and ensuring safety in the workplace.
When implementing a drug and alcohol policy in your workplace it is important to consult with unions and health and safety representatives. It is also important to educate staff on the health effects of drugs and alcohol.

Train your leaders and advise your workers of the policy. Take care to make sure that the policy is the same for every worker and be consistent.

To keep the policy forefront remind staff before work social events.

You are entitled to require employee cooperation in the implementation of a drug and alcohol policy.