Fair Work Agency – do not ignore
The new Fair Work Agency (FWA) is now in place and is responsible for enforcing workers’ rights. This Agency has been put in place to aid the creaking tribunal system which has lengthy delays.
And it has clout – doing all of the following and more without anyone formally raising a claim:
- Inspect workplaces and question you without waiting for a prior complaint or tribunal claim
- Demand documents including contracts, GDPRs, right to work checks and holiday records
- Issue Notices of Underpayment recovering up to six years’ arrears plus penalties of up to 200%
- Publicly name non-compliant employers
- Take tribunal cases on behalf of workers
- Recover its own enforcement costs
As well as following complaints and referrals, investigations can be based on intelligence sharing and “risk indicators”. This means you could find yourself under their spotlight if you have outdated contracts, minimum wage breaches, sketchy holiday records (see our feature below for more info on this) or haven’t handled statutory requests correctly.
In a nutshell you can no longer wing your people management – your processes must now withstand regulatory scrutiny.
Holiday record keeping – a reminder
Mint HR notified our clients last month of the new rules regarding annual leave records (one of the areas now under the FWA’s remit).
We’d like to remind everyone that it’s now a criminal offence to not have adequate holiday records and these records need to be kept for six years.
Here’s our advice on what actions to take to avoid a potentially hefty fine in the future:
- Ensure your holiday records are accurate, organised and stored securely. This includes time off in lieu (TOIL) records and carryover into new holiday years.
- Check your payroll department/provider is recording payments for holidays and payments in lieu correctly and that they will be filed for six years.
- Set up one easily accessible system where you can keep records in one place for six years or more. Breathe HR online systems is great for this.
Need help with any of the above? Click Contact Mint HR below.
