Coming into the harvest season it is vital to understand the rules, restrictions and limitations surrounding workers hours and entitlements. In the mad scramble to source labour, it’s easy to be complacent, but the risks are high.
Over two weeks in August, Fair Work inspectors targeted farms and labour hire companies in the Sunraysia region, with roughly thirty businesses inspected across various locations including Mildura, Irymple, Colignan, Red Cliffs and Robinvale.
Agribusinesses who are not complying with current Fair Work legislation will end up facing court. And a Queensland-based cattle company has recently had to sign an enforceable undertaking to the tune of $2.5 million after identifying and self-reporting underpayments.
But most cases before the Fair Work Commission come directly from employees. Almost 30,000 unfair dismissal cases were lodged with the Fair Work Commission in the 2020–2021 financial year, but Rimfire Resources believes a healthy workplace culture, supported by recorded policies and procedures, can help protect your business against such claims.
In one unfair dismissal case in 2018–19, the Fair Work Commission slammed an employer for its "dysfunctional" and "shambolic" environment and ordered it to compensate an employee for unfair dismissal.
The Fair Work Commission ruled that the employee's termination letter didn’t elaborate on the reasons for her dismissal and ruled that the employer did not have a valid reason for sacking the employee. The company was fined and now sits on record with the Commission.
According to Rimfire’s senior human resources consultant, Jessica Roberts, with some planning and due diligence, such a situation can be easily avoided.
“Cases like this highlight the need for robust policies and procedures. These provide foundations for structure, control, consistency, fairness and reasonableness,” Ms Roberts said. “They help to ensure compliance with employment legislation and protect a business from legal and security risks such as unfair dismissal and other claims.
“Well-written policies, procedures and supporting documentation also keep staff assured during their employment, by informing them of their responsibilities and the company's expectations.
“Importantly, these documents should include solid, compliant letter templates to support the management of each part of the employee life cycle, from recruitment and performance management through to termination.”
Ms Roberts said one of the key findings in the above case was that a prior warning given to the employee was "vague and non-specific", so it was considered "grossly unfair" that the employee was given no opportunity to respond to the allegations against them.
“Ensuring your company procedures dictate the necessary steps to comply with laws in particular scenarios, such as a managed termination, is critical to managing your legal risk and exposure,” she said.
“A company's employment documentation must comply with the relevant legislative framework that governs all employers. Importantly, management must keep abreast of all the changes within this framework that affect your business.
“It can take a lot of time to keep up to date with the frequent changes to workplace laws, HR compliance obligations and best practice, but resources are available, such as on the Fair Work Commission, the Fair Work Ombudsman and other government websites.
“Results from the recent Agribusiness HR Review show over 35% of agribusinesses do not have a dedicated HR Resources. If you don't have the time or resources to search through such sites, products such as Rimfire’s HR Hub can ensure your employment documentation is kept compliant.
“HR Hub offers an integrated and seamless system that can generate documents such as warning and termination letters for a number of scenarios. It’s a great resource to support a healthy workplace culture and to protect your business.”
