Trying to comply with regulations relating to payroll and employees can sometimes be a daunting experience.
There’s some simple steps to ensure you meet all of your legal obligations when faced with employing staff. Follow these steps and you can’t go wrong:
Check the Award
The Fair Work website has an A-Z list of all awards. Choose the award that best suits your employee’s duties. For example, you may be a manufacturing firm, and have just employed a office clerk. Their duties would not be manufacturing, but clerical. This person would be covered under the Clerks Private Sector Award.
The award will outline minimum wages and conditions associated with that employee. Ensure you check their age, level of experience and the duties they will be performing. Check any additional entitlements for overtime, travel, meals etc.
Check the NES (National Employment Standards)
All staff are covered by the NES. The NES outlines 10 minimum employment entitlements that must be provided to all employees. The NES entitlements relate to maximum weekly hours, flexible working arrangements, leave, termination and the Fair Work Information Statement (which must be provided to all employees when they start working with you).
Employee start day
When your employee starts with you, you may wish to set up an agreement outlining their duties, performance requirements, authority levels, wages and entitlements. This is something that will ensure both the employer and the employee start from day 1 with the same expectations.
Documents you should provide the employee with:
– Tax File Number Declaration
– Fair Work Information Statement
– Superannuation Guarantee form
– Relevant award or agreement
– New employee form (in-house document for recording bank details, emergency contacts etc).
Occupational Health and Safety
Don’t forget about your OHS obligations also, induct the new person into the office, showing exits, bathrooms, fire extinguishers, first aid kits and introduce the other staff.
So are you ready?
You will need all of this information prior to being able to pay the employee. Ensure you set them up in your accounting software correctly apportioning entitlements and leave.
If you’re unsure of any of these steps, check with Fair Work.
Aliantha Office Solutions can assist you with all of these requirements.