Unlocking the benefits of effective risk and compliance strategies

$66,600 penalties per contravention - eliminating risk through award compliance.

Background

All employees within this organisation of around 60 employees signed employment contracts that deemed them “award-free”.

Why was this a problem?

Our investigation revealed that most positions in the organisation were governed by a modern award. Although employees were paid above the minimum award rate, the award terms and conditions still applied.

The organisation may have been in violation of the following:

Employers must advise their employees in writing of their [award] classification upon commencement and of any subsequent changes to their classification
The employer must ensure that copies of this award and the NES are available to all employees to whom they apply, either on a notice board which is conveniently located at or near the workplace or through accessible electronic means
Employers are responsible for keeping up to-date with the modern awards, any associated transitional arrangements, and future changes, for example, to the annual minimum wage

What we did

We selected the 5 applicable awards from a pool of 122 for the business and assigned an award and classification level to each position.
We wrote to employees to inform them of their classification.
We established systems to notify new starters of their award classification and notify existing employees when required (e.g. position changes).
Relevant modern awards were stored on SharePoint for employee access.
We provided the business with ongoing support in maintaining up-to-date knowledge of relevant regulations.

Result

The potential penalties for contravening Fair Work obligations are up to $13,320 per contravention for an individual and $66,600 per contravention for a company.
This project eliminated the risk of penalties and ensured the organisation was meeting its ongoing award compliance obligations.

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