Make sure payroll has got it right

The Fair Work Ombudsman is the industrial relations watchdog which has the task of ensuring workers don’t get underpaid, over-worked or generally ripped off. If you never hear from them in your business life, that’s a very good thing.

If you want to make sure that you don’t get a knock on the door from the Ombudsman, it’s crucial to make sure that your payroll function knows exactly what it is doing, and it’s doing everything right.

For example, you must make sure you do the following:

• If you’ve got staff that work under an award, make sure they are receiving all their entitlements.
• Ensure you get any loadings or overtime rates correct at all times. This is an area that creates a lot of work for the Ombudsman.
• Get leave entitlements correct.

It’s crucial to remember that if you get one interpretation of a contact or award clause wrong, the mistake is often magnified by the number of workers you have. The bigger the team, the bigger the mistake.

The Ombudsman’s website has specific information for employers in the retail, cleaning, clerical, hair and beauty, security and horticulture industries.

There are also best-practise guides that employers can use for hiring, managing and dismissing workers.

This is crucial info to get across, so get it done – today!