There are few times in business that you\u2019ll feel as panicked and concerned as when you face a non-compliance fine. If you\u2019re like almost all businesses, the compliance issue in question was unintentional but you still feel awful about it. You want to do everything you can to rectify the situation and prevent it from happening again, but the real challenge is doing so with minimal disruption to your business, so your bottom line and output isn\u2019t negatively affected.<\/p>\n
The good news is, this is entirely possible \u2013 it just requires an investment of time, some thorough investigation and good planning.<\/p>\n
Here are our five tips for improving compliance with industrial relations laws and Modern Awards with as little disruption as possible.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s almost impossible to find a sustainable solution to a problem without understanding first why it happened. Putting in place measures without investigation is like putting a band-aid on a wound without checking if the bone underneath is broken.<\/p>\n There are dozens of reasons why non-compliance issues occur, but we recommend checking these first:<\/p>\n This can be a time-consuming process, but the information gained during your investigation is crucial in allowing you to set your business up to run compliantly in the long term.<\/p>\n With the plethora of highly sophisticated software available, there really is no need to undertake any rostering<\/a>, time and attendance<\/a>, leave management<\/a> and payroll<\/a> tasks manually. Manual calculations and processes like data entry and data transfers leave you wide open to human error, intentional and un-intentional non-compliance. It\u2019s just not worth the risk.<\/p>\n Compliance with Modern Awards and workplace laws isn\u2019t as simple as automating your process and taking them \u2018online\u2019. The only way to guarantee compliance is to use a system like Roubler that has in-built compliance controls and a Modern Award Interpretation engine<\/a>. These tools help you complete tasks compliantly using pre-set functions and notifications \u2013 essentially, they prevent you from doing anything silly in the first place. \u00a0We like to call it \u2018Always on compliance<\/a>\u2019.<\/p>\n Yes, we know. Implementing a new software system, particularly if it involves consolidating several different systems and processes, does bring with it a certain level of disruption to your business. Yes, you will need to transfer data, install new systems, test the system, complete parallel pay runs and train employees. But if you choose a cloud-based service, and your new provider manages and plans the process correctly with an experienced Customer Success Manager, the disruption will be minimal and the benefits and assured compliance you get in the long run will far outweigh any interruptions to business as usual.<\/p>\n As the old saying goes, \u201cKnowledge is power\u201d. A lack of understanding and skills is a huge contributor to non-compliance issues.<\/p>\n On the face of it, training sounds disruptive and time-consuming. But, if planned and managed properly, it really doesn\u2019t have to be, and you\u2019ll build an in-house pool of compliance experts in the process.<\/p>\n Firstly, <\/strong>set aside a week each year where line managers and staff responsible for HR and payroll can dedicate time to training and updating their skills. They may prefer to take online courses over a period of time or go to face-to-face training.<\/p>\n Where possible, offer employees the opportunity to undertake training relevant to the industry you work in, so they gain specialist knowledge. Many industry associations, like the National Retail Association or Master Builders provide low-cost, industry relevant training to members and can direct you to the best courses.<\/p>\n Secondly,<\/strong> make training on industrial relations compliance and Modern Awards a mandatory part of the onboarding process for line managers, HR and payroll staff. You\u2019ll get your new hires off to a great start and protect yourself from unnecessary errors and compliance issues that arise from a lack of knowledge.<\/p>\n Thirdly,<\/strong> take advantage of the free training made available by Fair Work Australia. You\u2019ll find a range of online courses and a wealth of information on the Fair Work Ombudsman website.<\/a><\/p>\n Another quick and easy way to ensure compliance is by taking advantage of the free templates, best practice guides and resources available online from government agencies. Using templates helps you start off right with very little effort.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a list of our picks:<\/p>\n Fair Work Ombudsman \u2013 Templates<\/a><\/p>\n Fair Work Ombudsman \u2013 Best Practice Guides<\/a><\/p>\n Fair Work Ombudsman \u2013 Newsletter for regular updates on rule changes and new resources<\/a><\/p>\n Fair Work Commission \u2013 Resources for HR Managers, Heads of HR and employment law practitioners\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Australian Government Business Website \u2013 Modern Awards and Agreements by state<\/a><\/p>\n Ensure relevant staff know how to access these resources \u2013 perhaps keep them in a shared file or host them on your intranet so they can access them quickly whenever they need them.<\/p>\n This doesn\u2019t have to be a mammoth task and there\u2019s no need to stop everything for an audit. It\u2019s simply a matter of reviewing your processes every six to twelve months to ensure they are watertight, ensure your contracts and documents are up to date and review the number of errors and potential and actual non-compliance issues to see what can be improved. Perhaps build it in to your preparations for end of financial year so it doesn\u2019t get missed. A couple of hours work could save you months of heartache.<\/p>\n While these tips require some effort to begin with, dealing with non-compliance issues is far more expensive, time-consuming and disruptive than any of the measures listed above.<\/p>\n At Roubler, we believe that the best way to ensure compliance with minimal disruption to your business is by making compliance a way of life in your business, integrated throughout all you do, and facilitated by fantastic technology. Why not read more about our build-in compliance tools<\/a>, and why switching to Roubler’s all-in-one platform<\/a> is the best way to ensure compliance?<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There are few times in business that you\u2019ll feel as panicked and concerned as when you face a …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":8453,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32,882],"tags":[528,579,683],"class_list":["post-8452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hr-technology","category-payroll-remuneration","tag-award-compliance","tag-compliance","tag-modern-award-compliance"],"yoast_head":"\nTip 1: Understand why you are not compliant<\/h2>\n
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Tip 2: Use the right compliance-enabled software<\/h2>\n
Tip 3: Dedicate time to Modern Awards compliance training<\/h2>\n
Tip 4: Make use of free compliance and Modern Award interpretation resources<\/h2>\n
Tip 5: Put in place regular workplace law compliance audits<\/h2>\n