What is happening in the world of HR for small business?

Is your business ready for Christmas?

At Strawberry Seed, we are already talking to our clients about 2023. But first, we need to get through Christmas!

With so many competing priorities, HR issues can sometimes end up at the bottom of the list. With a little bit of preparation, you can ensure that you have a smooth transition into next year. In this article, Carli provides 5 ways to get your business HR ready for Christmas. From managing leave and public holidays to the Christmas party risks, make sure you take the time to go through and tick these off your list now to save yourself time later.

Unsure of your obligations around Christmas shutdown periods? Now is the time to reach out to our team for the right advice.

Minimum Award Increases from 1 October 2022

In line with the Fair Work Commission’s Annual Wage Review 2021-2022, several Awards in the Aviation, Tourism and Hospitality industries will have a minimum wage increase from 1 October 2022.

Hospitality

• Hospitality Industry (General) Award [MA000009]
• Registered and Licensed Clubs Award [MA000058
• Restaurant Industry Award [MA000119]

Tourism

• Alpine Resorts Award [MA000092]
• Marine Tourism and Charter Vessels Award [MA000093]

Aviation

• Air Pilots Award [MA000046]
• Aircraft Cabin Crew Award [MA000047]
• Airline Operations – Ground Staff Award [MA000048]
• Airport Employees Award [MA000049]
• Airservices Australia Enterprise Award 2016 [MA000141]

What does this mean?

If your business or employment is covered by one of these Awards, the adult minimum pay rates will increase by 4.6% from the first full pay period on or after 1 October 2022. Junior, apprentice, and supported wages will have a proportionate increase.

If you work with the Hospitality Award, there has been a change to Grade 3 loaded rates. There has been an increase to the loaded rate from the first full pay period on or after 2 October 2022. You will need to use Fair Work’s Pay and Conditions Tool to calculate these new rates.

Upcoming Training and Development

Strawberry Seed Consulting – Free November Webinar 

The next in our series of free webinars will be held on the 16th November 2022 at 7.30 pm. Bookings can be made here, and please feel free to pass this on to other business owners.

Workplace Bullying and Harassment – Employers FAQ answered

We will start with the basics when it comes to Workplace Bullying and Harassment:

• What is it?
• How to recognise it?
• How to manage it?

Please join our Director, Carli Saw, as she goes deep into the common questions we get from employers to ensure procedural fairness for employees and reduced risk for employers.

As we understand small business people have busy days, we have scheduled this session for the evening (so you can enjoy it with a glass of wine if you wish)!

Mental Health First Aid Training

Undetected mental health issues have a long-term negative impact on your staff as well as the wider workplace. Recognising the signs and symptoms of mental health issues is the first step to supporting an employee or workmate who’s struggling.

Our Senior HR Advisor and Mental Health First Aid Instructor, Frances Orr, is an accredited MHFA trainer and has been delivering in-house MHFA training for a number of our clients since 2021.

We now have a regular schedule of public blended online workplace MHFA, the next ones coming up in October and November.  The public courses allow businesses to send a smaller number of their team to attend the course. We will also be offering discounted rates for our HR Business Support Package and previous Fixed Price Package clients so reach out to your HR Advisor for the codes

Blended Online Workplace Course

The blended online course is split into two components.  In the first component, your team will undertake a self-paced eLearning component (4-6 hours online directly with MHFA).  This is then followed up by component 2, which is two 2.5 hour instructor-led webinar sessions. Each attendee will receive an MHFA manual, and a certificate of attendance and can gain accreditation for mental health first aid. During this course, we can address current industry issues or concerns you are experiencing in your organisation. This public delivery is limited to 12 participants in each webinar session.

The cost of this course is $250 plus GST for each attendee.

The dates for the upcoming instructor lead webinar sessions can be found here.

Why is Mental Health First Aid training important?

As a manager or business owner, you’re likely to have been confronted with mental health issues at your workplace. Do you know how to talk to a team member who’s struggling? Maybe you hold back because you don’t know what to say, or you’re worried about saying the wrong thing.

Mental Health First Aid training teaches you practical first aid skills to help a team member or co-worker who’s experiencing mental health issues. We’ll teach you how to approach someone who’s struggling, ask the right questions and help them access professional help.

To learn more about our in-house training options, click here or contact Frances for an obligation-free customised quote at mhfa@strawberryseed.com.au.

Upcoming Leadership Training Workshops – Perth, Adelaide and Sydney