Clock is ticking on employer fact sheets

Employers covered by the federal system have until Saturday to provide a copy of the workplace relations fact sheet to employees. Those who fail to do so could be fined $110 per employee.

The Workplace Authority says employers should:

• Download the fact sheet and email it to staff.
• Download the fact sheet, post it on their intranet, and email a direct electronic link to the fact sheet to all employees. The link must directly open the fact sheet file, not just the home page of the intranet site.
• Download the fact sheet and print copies to distribute.
• Order printed copies online in the section below.
• Phone the Workplace Infoline on 1300 363 264 to order printed copies.

But employer groups say that many employers will not be aware of the new requirement and be at risk of fines.

Tony Steven, chief executive of the Council of Small Business Organisations, says the rules are confusing and just more red tape. He warns of a backlash if the Workplace Authority takes a hard line on enforcement.

The Workplace Ombudsman has said it won’t be specifically auditing businesses to check whether employees have the document but if they become aware of instances where employees didn’t get it, “we will address that and adopt a commonsense approach”.