Are you on top of the new annualised wage obligations?

From 1 March 2020, new annualised wage provisions came into operation in many modern awards. They imposed new and significant obligations on employers which in many cases will not be welcomed by employees. For example, you are required to ensure that your employees record their starting and finishing times and their lunch breaks even if that is counter to your workplace value of trusting your people to do the right thing or something that you do not see as appropriate in your professional office. 

The good news is that the Fair Work Commission has left the door open if you want to take an alternative approach via a common law contract. Here is what it said: “Employers may, pursuant to private contractual arrangements, pay employees in accordance with a salary arrangement that compensates for or “buys out” identified award entitlements without engaging with the annualised wage arrangements provision in the applicable award.” 

Of course, you still need to ensure that your employees are better off overall than they would be if they were paid strictly in accordance with all award conditions (not just the minimum rates). If that is true in your case and there is no potential for your employee’s annualised salary (whether expressed as a fixed annual or weekly or fortnightly or monthly amount) to fall below that total award entitlement, properly drafted set off clauses in your employment contracts will enable you to legally avoid “engaging with the annualised wage arrangements provision in the applicable award.”

We can help you with that at a very affordable price – just $250 plus GST per contract. Of course, we will need you to show us that you are not in danger of underpaying people against award entitlements first – after all, we don’t want to be an accessory to an underpayment of wages.

If you want to engage us to assist with this, contact us here or call Peter Maguire on 0438 533 311.