From March 2020, 22 modern awards will be changed. This is a result of the Fair Work Commission’s decision to change annualised salary provisions. As an employer, it is your responsibility to ensure that your employees don’t earn below minimum wage overall when they work any hours above the 38-hour working week.

As of 1 March 2020, employers will have a responsibility to provide written notice to their employees to notify them of their annual salary and maximum ordinary hours outside of the 38-hour working week.

If an employer discovers that an employee received less pay on their annual wage agreement than if they were paid under the award, it’s your responsibility to pay your employees the difference. This payment is required to be paid within 14 days and the process needs to be undertaken every year. This is also applicable upon the termination of contracts.

What this means for you as an employer:

Employers must now keep records of when their employees start and finish work, and when they take their breaks.

Any hours worked outside the roster/and or pay period is now required to be paid as overtime. This applies if an employee’s salary does not pay them at or above minimum wage for the total hours worked. It is now required for records to be signed as correct by the employees for each roster or pay period. Please note that this new change may impact working culture as some employees may feel micro-managed. This can lead to a decline in trust around working overtime, so it is important to keep this in mind.

Ready to be compliant?

We know that changes to employee awards and legislation are hard to keep up with. That’s why it’s important to hire a qualified payroll specialist or provider who is up to date with changes. It will save you lots of time in the long run and can greatly reduce your chances of ending up in dispute with the Fair Work Ombudsman.

Simplified Solution to the new legislation – Invest in Deputy Payroll Software

Managing payroll can be one of the most time consuming and error-prone challenges facing business owners today. With labour regulations and disputes on the rise, payroll errors can also be costly to the business

Deputy can easily track and report on your employees’ hours. Having a time tracking software that’s integrated into any payroll management software eliminates the human aspect of payroll management and instead uses a fully automated system for accurate payroll and proper documentation to address compliance.

With the new changes to full time employment Deputy can be set up to schedule each staff member at 38 hours per week. If the employee is approaching 38 hours you will be notified that overtime is about to incur before it happens. Reports can be run at any time between any period to calculate how many hours were worked versus what was paid and the variance between them. This will allow you to calculate any overtime back-pay if required.