If you are an employer, you should be aware that changes are coming to many Awards. The changes are concerned with annualised salary arrangements and will take effect on 1 March 2020. Click here for a list of the affected Awards.
Annualised salary
Employers can pay Award-covered employees an annual salary by incorporating any financial entitlements arising from the Award in an employment contract. However, new ‘annualised wage’ clauses in many modern Awards will bring new administrative requirements for Employers. The specific requirements will vary according to the Award that applies to the employee.
How can I stay compliant?
According to Workforce Guardian, employers need to take the following steps:
Identify if you have ‘annualised salary’ arrangements currently in place for any Award covered employee.
Identify which specific Award applies to the employee.
Review the terms of the Award for any incoming or altered ‘annualised wage’ clauses and consider what those requirements will mean for your current arrangements.
Compare the Award terms against the contractual terms to ensure the annualised arrangements that are currently in place comply with any new Award requirements.
Ensure the employee continues to be paid sufficiently compared to the relevant Award.
Make any appropriate changes to the current annualised salary arrangements to ensure compliance with the Award terms.
Implement any administrative requirements resulting from the new Award provisions. These can include the requirement to undertake and evidence a yearly reconciliation against the Award, and may also include the requirement to keep time records for those annualised salary employees so as to evidence they are not being underpaid for any overtime.
Keep appropriate records of the business having undertaken these processes.
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For more information or advice on the above, feel free to contact one of our professional bookkeepers.