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The Punnet – June 2018

By June 3, 2018Newsletter
The Punnet

Celebrating 5 Years of Strawberry Seed Consulting!

Are you ready for the 2018 Minimum Wage Increase?

EOFY can be a busy time for Small Business owners. We are bombarded with information about what we need to finalise by the 30th of June. On Friday 1st June, the list got more significant with the new minimum wage increase announced, the largest in several years at 3.5%.

Australian employment laws and awards are complex and, unfortunately, it is easy to get caught out.  Strawberry Seed Consulting can assist you with establishing which Awards apply to your employees, understand the obligations and benchmark your current employee wages to make sure you are meeting your minimum legal responsibilities.

During June, we will be working closely with our HR support clients not only to ensure that they are paying their employees correctly but reviewing several areas of their HR to ensure their business is compliant. We have identified 5 Key HR Questions that we will be asking our small business clients and have shared these with you in our latest article so you can do the same in your business.

What else is happening in the world of Employment?

Long Service Leave

Changes are coming to Long Service Leave entitlements in Victoria with parliament passing the Long Service Leave Act 2018, listed to come into effect from the 1st November 2018. There are several changes that employers should be aware of. These include:

  • Employees will be able to take long service leave following seven years of service rather than ten years.
  • Employees will be able to apply to take long service leave in blocks of a single day.
  • Up to 12 months of unpaid parental leave to count as service and unpaid parental leave of greater than 12 months will not break the continuity of service.
  • Changes to the calculation of ordinary hours and ordinary pay where employees’ hours or rates of pay have changed.

If you have long-serving employees, you will need to keep up to date with these changes.

Managing Workplace Relationships

Managing workplace relationships has always been tricky for managers. Barnaby Joyce thrust the topic into the headlines in February when it came out he was in a relationship with a former employee.

The reality is those workplace relationships are more common than you think, particularly with employees spending more and more time at work. Carli shares her wisdom in her article, The Barnaby Effect or How to Manage a Workplace Romance.

Happy birthday to us!

On the 25th May 2018, we celebrated 5 years for Strawberry Seed Consulting. We want to thank all of our employees, clients (both past and present) and supporters for helping us get this far. Our team is in the process of expanding, adding both an HR Advisor and Career Coaches, allowing us to continue to grow and help more clients achieve their dreams.

If you know of an HR or Recruitment professional looking for a challenging yet flexible part-time opportunity, please ask them to get in touch.

We look forward to another 5 years!

Carli Saw

Author Carli Saw

My HR career began over 25 years ago after completing a Bachelor of Business with a major in Human Resources. I worked for large companies and gained experience across various industries, including IT, building and construction, oil and gas and automotive. One of my most rewarding roles was HR Manager for a business with fewer than 50 employees. In this role, I worked with the leadership team to build a solid foundation for the management and engagement of their employees. So, when I decided to start my own business in 2013, I focused on bringing my HR experience to small businesses that do not have in-house HR support but still have the same issues around managing their people. Over the last eleven plus years, I have been privileged to work with hundreds of businesses nationwide. I love that we help them gain peace of mind, knowing they are meeting their HR obligations, finding the right staff, or supporting them through stressful employee situations. What I love most is the fantastic team of HR professionals who have joined me on the Strawberry Seed journey. As any small business owner knows, bringing in others to work with your clients can be daunting. Each and every member of the Strawberry Seed team is a true asset to their profession and our brand. I unequivocally could not do this without them.

More posts by Carli Saw
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