I feel guilty. Am I doing enough for my Government?

Dear Aunty B,

I feel guilty. As an entrepreneur I spend a lot of time working for the Government, filling in forms and doing their paperwork.

But I am obviously not doing enough, because as I read yesterday in SmartCompany, there is now something else I have to do or I will be wacked with some whopping fine.

Aunty B… I am obviously not doing enough. What else can I do for my Government?

Leon Jasper,
Toowoomba, Australia

Dear Leon,

Not to worry! This is just the beginning of an exciting new opportunity for entrepreneurs.

Take these new fact sheets on workplace law changes. As part of your duty to the country you need to hand out these sheets to workers by 20 October and within seven days to new workers from 20 July. That’s right! And if you don’t, you will be slapped with fines of $110 per employee.

But it won’t stop there. Get ready for all the questions your employees will ask! And Leon, it will happen. The Government has taken thousands of pages of complex legislation and squeezed the bare facts on to a simple fact sheet (begs the question why the thousands of pages are necessary…)

This is sure to create confusion and uncertainty, particularly with your employees who may never have heard of many of the concepts in the fact sheet.

So Leon thankfully you can spend the next few months being an advertiser on behalf of the Government!

I would suggest there will be more opportunities for you along these lines. For example why shouldn’t business owners be used for the distribution of all forms to workers? And why bother with any advertising when business owners can be forced through fines to pass on anything the Government wants them to.

So Leon, next time you are fretting about how you can do more for your Government, consider this. You are increasingly an essential member of the bureaucracy, unacknowledged and unpaid!

Hope you feel less guilty!

What are you waiting for? Email your questions, problems and issues to auntyb@smartcompany.com.au right now!

For more Aunty B, such as…
My staff are moonlighting. Where is the line?
How do I say no to pay rises but keep my staff?
My costs are blowing out. How do I turn into a tight arse?
Will redesigning my website hurt my Google ranking?
What can I ask a potential recruit?

And for the full list of Aunty B questions, click here.