Workplace audit campaign in Queenstown
The Fair Work Ombudsman will visit 120 businesses in and around Queenstown, in western Tasmania next month, as part of an education and compliance campaign.
Fair Work inspectors will conduct face-to-face visits of employers in Queenstown, Rosebery, Strahan and Zeehan to check they are complying with record-keeping and pay slip obligations.
Inspectors will check employers are keeping accurate time-and-wages sheets and providing employees sufficiently detailed pay slips within one working day of pay.
In cases where inspectors have concerns about a particular business, they will expand the audit to check the business is paying its staff the correct rates of pay, including minimum wage rates and penalty rates.
Acting Fair Work Ombudsman, Michael Campbell, said the Queenstown area was selected for the campaign following information suggesting some employers in the area are paying employees cash-in-hand, which indicates they may not be complying with record-keeping and pay slip laws.
“It is important for businesses to get it right when it comes to record-keeping and pay slip obligations,” Mr Campbell said.
“If you are operating a business and not keeping proper time-and-wages records, the chances are your business will have other non-compliance issues as well.
“In cases where Fair Work inspectors find contraventions, their preference will be to educate the employer and assist them to put processes in place to ensure ongoing compliance.”
Mr Campbell said inspectors will show employers how to use the range of free resources available at the Fair Work Ombudsman’s website - www.fairwork.gov.au - to help them comply with workplace laws.
Online resources include templates for pay slips and time-and-wages sheets and tools for determining correct rates of pay for employees, such as PayCheck Plus.
Employers in the Queenstown area are encouraged to have records available on-site during June. If employers want to meet with Fair Work inspectors to discuss any issues, they can arrange an appointment by phoning inspector Stephen Mastwyk on (03) 9954 2557.
Employers and workers seeking advice or assistance should visit www.fairwork.gov.au or contact the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94.
Source: Fair Work Ombudsman, 16 May 2013
