Business Owners – Comply or Beware…
By
Key Business Advisors
Human Resources News
The recent introduction of an anonymous online tip-off service has put unprecedented pressure on businesses to ensure they are complying with workplace laws and regulations.
In unveiling this new tool (accessed here), Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James has put out a call to the greater community to help build a ‘culture of compliance’ in Australian workplaces. If early results are anything to go by, the new anonymous ‘dob-in’ service is turning up the heat on businesses, with almost 500 reports lodged in its first four weeks of going live.
More than three-quarters of these reports centered on concerns regarding rates of pay, perhaps not too surprisingly in the wake of high-profile coverage such as 7-Eleven’s worker exploitation cases.
While such a measure ultimately benefits compliant businesses from being undermined by competitors who unlawfully cut costs (often by exploiting their workers), it forces all businesses to closely examine their workplace arrangements.
Workplace law is complex and dynamic, and all too often, we at Key Business Advisors encounter well-meaning businesses caught out as a result of their failure to keep up with laws and rules that are frequently being updated or amended.
The cost of a breach in law can be devastating, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses. If you’re in doubt as to whether your business is fulfilling its workplace laws, then let our experienced team conduct a HR Audit for your business. It’s a small price to pay for a lot of peace of mind.
