Employment Update: A Report On The Fair Work Ombudsman

The Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) aims is to ensure compliance with workplace laws. The FWO has now been in operation for over 12 months. Examining its progress thus far helps to determine whether there are any flow-on consequences for your business which are worth considering.

The FWO 2009-2010

The FWO appears to be the most energetic IR enforcement agency Australia has had to date. The figures from the first annual report indicate that it has been constantly active in assisting both employers and employees and in pursuing potential actions. Specifically the FWO:

• received on average 23, 000 phone calls per week
• conducted 35, 241 live help sessions and responded to 22, 589 emails
• resolved 21, 070 complaints resulting in the recovery of $21.291m in pay and entitlements for employees
• commenced civil penalty litigation 53 times and re-couped over $2m in court-ordered penalties.

Significantly, the number of people contacting the FWO sharply increased following the implementation of the national workplace relations system from the beginning of this year. The FWO has developed partnerships with State Government run offices which has ensured that there are sufficient resources to pursue any potential breach of workplace law. Employers should be aware that any deviation from legislative requirements is likely to attract the attention of the FWO.

Results

After proceedings commenced by the FWO, one employer was fined a whopping $110,000 as a result of several breaches of workplace laws relating to a failure to adequately reimburse employees. This amount was almost double the amount that was owed to the employees.

There have also been numerous recent instances of the FWO recovering money for Gold Coast residents. Amounts ranging from between $6000 to $11,000 have been recovered for failing to pay leave entitlements, penalty rates and redundancy entitlements. Almost $9000 was recovered on behalf of a casual worker who had been paid below the minimum hourly rate.

Something to note...

As pointed out by the FWO, the prosecution of companies that fail to comply with workplace laws benefits those that do by preserving a level playing field. Ensuring that your company maintains practices that are completely in line with the legislation is necessary to ensure that it is safe from what appears to be a quite active office of the FWO. The good news is that the increasing rate of FWO prosecutions will always be a positive for your business so long as you continuously satisfy the relevant legal requirements.

Denise O'Reilly is an experienced Employment Lawyer and Senior Associate of Ffrench Legal. To discuss any of the contents of this article,

please email Denise at doreilly@ffrenchlegal.com or phone her on +61 7 5591 7555

This article is intended to assist you in ensuring your business achieves maximum potential with or without the assistance of Ffrench Legal.

It does not constitute any form of legal advice.