For all of you that live and work on the Gold Coast you will know that it is the micro capital of Australian Businesses with many small to medium size companies. Some of you may have experienced a surging businesses from the construction boom and tourism. Others may be gearing up for the Commonwealth Games 2018 (#GC2018) and others venturing into business for the first tome to escape the corporate world. Lets talk about Employing for the first time.
When we start to experience growth in the business and we find ourselves either working longer and longer hours, having to get friends and family to help out or turning down work as you just don’t have the capacity. This is when the idea of getting help happens.
A question that I am getting asked more and more is: When is the time to start thinking about employing a team member and what do you need to think about first?
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That is a really interesting question and that’s one a lot of people are coming across when is the right time to have somebody in.
First of all I suggest people should start looking at their budget. Whether they can actually afford to bring a person on board.
So maybe for 3-6 months put a money aside for having an employee so think of what they going to be paying them weekly and take into account 4 weeks annual leave, leave loading as well some sick days (10 days sick days) and the training cost to get them to where you need them.
Put that aside every week into a separate account (Tax and Superannuation too) and if you comfortably afford it and doesn’t affect you, you don’t have to struggle then maybe this is the right time to bring somebody on board. If you find that you are getting to the time to pay the money into the bank account and you don’t have it then maybe you need to wait to get more business or new clients on board. You don’t want to get in the situation where you pay everyone before you and then you struggle to make ends meet. That’s too stressful for anyone and not why you started up in business.
And when the time comes to bring someone on board you thave got a buffer to cover any down time while you are training and if something happened in the business as well. So it’s kind of saving account at the same time.
When you do bring someone on board I highly recommend on bringing an casual first so you can test the waters to see what they can be doing and see if you got a right job available for them to actually do and whether they are the right person for you.
The great thing with the casual is when it is down time you change hours around as there is no obligation for ongoing employment so you can drop or move the hours up and down as you need to for the business needs.
If you bring a permanent part-time or permanent full time employee no matter what the day’s work is and if you have a super quiet week ahead you need to pay the wage – that’s why the casual better.
Think of having 5-6 months with a casual on board and see how it works for you and you can determine if it is right for you to increase and make the arrangement more permanent.
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Aspects to consider for Casuals and the National Employment Standards
- Casuals are not entitled to minimum notice period or to redundancy pay, regardless of their length of employment
- Casuals cannot be requested or required to work more than 38 hours per week, plus reasonable additional hours
- Casuals will only be entitled to request flexible work if they have been employed on a regular & systematic basis for at least 12 months and they have a reasonable expectation of continuing work on the same basis
- Casuals are not entitled to paid annual leave or paid personal / carer’s leave. They are, however, entitled to unpaid carer’s leave and unpaid compassionate leave (up to 2 days for each permissible occasion)
- Casuals will not be entitled to parental leave unless they have been employed on a regular and systematic basis for at least 12 months and they have a reasonable expectation of continuing work on the same basis
- Casuals are generally not entitled to Long Service leave however, do check with the relevant State legislation
- Casuals are entitled to unpaid community service leave but they are not entitled to paid jury service leave
- Casuals are entitled to take a day off for a Public Holiday however, they are not entitled to be paid for that day off unless they were rostered to work that day
- Casuals should receive the Fair Work Information Statement when they commence casual employment
- Be aware that under some awards, after a Casual has worked on a regular and systematic basis for a set period of time, they are required to be offered full-time or part-time permanent employment
Dismissal of Casual Employees (proceed with caution when dismissing a Casual)
- If the Casual is not exempt from Unfair Dismissal laws they will have the right to claim relief with respect to their termination. Procedural fairness needs to be evidenced and a ‘valid reason’ for the dismissal given
- If the Casual is excluded from Unfair Dismissal laws they may still be able to bring a claim under general protection if dismissed for a proscribed reason such as a ‘workplace right’, discrimination, a breach of contract, award or agreement or a trade practices claim
- Despite the label of ‘Casual’ worker they may bring a claim stating that they are in fact a permanent employee.
If you need help or further information you can give the team at Fresh HR Insights a call and we will be more than happy to go over the options with you. Click here to book in a no obligation FREE 30-minute general chat.
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