Labor to enshrine casual conversion into law if elected
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will enshrine a right for casual workers to request conversion to permanent positions into law if Labor wins the election next month. This will result in all employers being required to consider requests made by workers to move into part-time or full-time roles.
The move will build on a ruling of the Commission from October 2018, which placed casual conversion rights for workers who have worked a ‘regular pattern of hours’ for 12 months in 85 modern awards.
Under the Commission’s decision, employers can refuse requests in writing on reasonable grounds, including that conversion would require a significant adjustment to hours of work or the business more broadly. However, employees also have the right to appeal decisions if employers ‘unreasonably’ refuse a conversion request.
Single Touch Payroll commences on 1 July 2019 for employers with less than 19 employees
Single touch payroll is also called real-time payroll reporting — because it means every time a business pays their workers, all salary information is sent to the ATO.
This includes wages, deductions and super information, eliminating the need for Pay-As-You-Go withholding activity statements throughout the year.
You should consult with your bookkeeper / accountant on how these new changes will affect your business.
Contractor Crackdown
Continued disputes over whether a person is an employee or a contractor has renewed calls for business owners to review their human resources processes.
In a recent case, the Commission had to determine whether a sales director for Perth-based manufacturing firm Global Wear Solutions was eligible to pursue an unfair dismissal application by examining the often complex matter of determining what constitutes an independent contractor versus an employee.
While a signed agreement between both parties defined the worker as a ‘contractor’, this fact in isolation its not always enough, and the Commission was tasked with examining whether the actual nature of their relationship fit that bill.
The Commission will consider a range of factors, including the business capital allocated to the worker, whether there was a definite period of employment, how the worker represented the firm in business dealings and the amount of control the employer has over him or her.
In addition to the above, regulators are casting a keen eye over employment relationships at the moment, with the Ombudsman getting new funding in the recent federal budget to tackle sham contracting, which involves arrangements where employers disguise their employment relationships as independent contractors to avoid paying employee entitlements.
The new $9.2 million funding would see a compliance team of 12 full-time equivalent officers from the Ombudsman’s office created to crack down on businesses avoiding paying employee entitlements.
Employers should carefully review all of their contractor arrangements, and seek professional advice to assist in determining whether any changes should be made to avoid liability.
