Without doubt, many employers were extremely nervous about how COVID-19 lockdowns and work from home directions would impact their business.  What would be the impact on productivity and employee engagement, would connections with internal and external stakeholders survive and how does one create a Zoom background to hide the mess in the family room so that your position as a leader isn’t undermined?   Indeed, how was business supposed to flourish, let alone survive all the challenges this nasty virus had thrown at the world? 
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For those who have come through the experience, the learnings raise new questions.  What now?  How do we incorporate many of the incredibly positive work from home learnings into our businesses in 2021 and beyond?  Should we consider changing the way we work?

​With so many people working from home in 2020, the grey area between professional and personal lives and activities has been blurred like never before. As Covid-19 restrictions begin to lift for Victoria and further adjustments occur nationally, businesses and organisations need to prepare to bring employees back to the workplace. For example, in Victoria, effective 23 November  there is a phased return to the office and employers can now have 25% of their workers back to offices (or 10 people for businesses with less than 40 staff, if space allows for 4 sqm per person) with numbers increasing over the coming weeks and months. .  Each business will have its own unique challenges to face from physical distancing workstations in an office, purchasing of items such as sneezeguards, to adapting procedures to ensure the business is working in line with their COVIDSafe plan. Business leaders will also need to be cognisant of the potential psychological impact that lockdowns have had with heightened numbers of employees feeling anxious about their return.  

​​The Covid-19 pandemic has certainly hit a lot of businesses hard. Back in February and March many businesses were either considering, or actioning, redundancies, to ensure they remained viable as the spectre of lockdowns and restrictions became a reality. With the introduction of the JobKeeper wage subsidy, a lifeline was thrown out and businesses had options to continue keeping people employed.  Now that a significant amount of businesses are no longer receiving JobKeeper, the decision to make some roles in the business redundant to try and claw back some of the lost earnings over the past six months is a key strategy many are considering or are already implementing.

UPDATED 27 OCTOBER, 2020
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​On Friday 19 June 2020, the Fair Work Commission handed down its latest decision regarding the National Minimum Wage.  With the impact to business by COVID-19, the application of the increase has been varied with different industries set to apply the increases at different times.   As an employer, you need to be across these changes and how they apply to your business.

Let’s state the obvious, Coivd-19 has impacted our team connections irrespective of how well we have utilised Zoom or instigated programs to keep our people engaged.  How could it not? 

​For many businesses, working from home was uncharted territory but many employees seem to be getting on with it and are still actively engaged with their work.  But how do you really know?  

​The outbreak of COVID-19 and the varying levels of restrictions has meant that many of employers have had to move people to work from home at very short notice.  It is important to remember that employers have the ultimate responsibility for ensuring a safe work environment, wherever that work is carried out. This includes employees working from home.  With more and more employees being asked to work from home particularly in Victoria with Stage 4 restrictions, we felt it was timely to remind employers of their legal obligations.

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​When it comes to workplace events that produce resentment and anxiety, few score higher than the big annual performance review. This dreaded process is a relic of the industrial age and in today’s world of working, getting feedback once a year no longer serves a purpose. It comes as a verdict, a judgment, whereas the intention needs to be course-correcting.

So this happened……

As a trained and accredited drug and alcohol tester, I am often asked by a range of clients to attend their worksites for the purposes of facilitating random drug testing.
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Since COVID-19 came crashing into town studies have shown that there has been a significant increase in the Australian public using illegal drugs, prescription medication and alcohol to assist them to cope with COVID-19 related anxiety, negativity, stress and the ever changing environment

HR Staff n’ Stuff are huge advocates of having clear and appropriate policies in place to protect both the employer as well as your employees.  They establish standards of behaviour and allow for consistent and fair responses from employers if they are breached.  If established correctly, communicated clearly to employee and consistently adhered to, they are a valuable asset when an employer needs to defend themselves in an unfair dismissal claim.  However, use them inconsistently and it will cost you!

​Look at the news and we see leaders of all shapes and sizes talking about what we need to do and how we will operate in order to make it through the pandemic.  It’s clear that there are some strong and worthy leaders out there whilst there are some just trump(et)ing noise.  A crisis is THE time when you will see who truly shines as a leader in your business.  Whether it’s you or members of your team, strong and positive leadership will help your business as we navigate everything COVID-19 is throwing out.

As an employer and business leader, we know this is a challenging time.  Good leaders make plans for the future but the coronavirus (Covid-19) has come out of nowhere and the situation we all find ourselves in is unprecedented.  There is already significant information about the virus – reporting exposure, symptoms, flattening the curve, self-isolation and hygiene considerations – so we aren’t going to rehash all of that information.  Rather, we will provide some answers to a few frequently asked HR questions that many of you are facing.  

​With the ongoing challenges of managing a global health issue, it is important to look at what the facts are and how it may impact your business.  Aside from the challenge of being able to source sufficient toilet paper, businesses face the prospect of managing employees who many be exposed to COVID-19 despite the strict border controls now in place.  Compounding the issue is that this a first of its kind issue and the advice changes daily as the situation evolves and we learn more about the virus and its impact.  As your HR Consultants, we advise you keep abreast of the changing advice and remain flexible as you manage the updates and the effect on your employees and your business.  To help you, we have an overview that is current as of today.

Why would a HR Consulting company write about GPS?  Sure, our team use it in their cars or on their phones to get to meetings in locations that are unfamiliar but that doesn’t warrant a blog article does it?   Well sort of …..

Whilst some of us remember the joy of trying to fold a map, the introduction of GPS means there is a whole generation of travellers who have missed out on learning the finer art of map origami.  At the touch of a screen, a guided map and a sultry voice pop up to guide us to our destination without a paper cut in sight

It’s hard to miss the media reports saturated with news about novel coronavirus with significant focus on the number of infected and sadly, the accompanying death toll.  The outbreak has now been declared a Public Health Emergency by the World Health Organisation and the Australian Government has stepped up border controls with restrictions placed on entry to those who are from, or have travelled through, mainland China (exceptions are made for Australian citizens).  At this point, there is no need to panic, however as an employer, you have an obligation to maintain a safe workplace and the following information will assist you in supporting your employees as we await updates on how this health issue progresses.

Have you ever been on the receiving end of a gaslighting experience?  Prove it. 
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Easier said than done actually and that is why gaslighting is such an insidious and damaging behavior that has the capacity to do extraordinary damage within your workplace if you don’t deal with it quickly and effectively.  

This week the HR Staff n’ Stuff team were lucky enough to attend an HR Employment Law Masterclass where we heard updates on areas that affect a wide range of our clients.  One major area that was covered and has had significant changes of late is related to the Whistleblower laws.  This is a complex and large piece of legislation that you hopefully won’t ever need to use but we have a summary of considerations businesses need to be across.

​T’is the season to be jolly, or at least it nearly is and that means the annual Christmas parties are about to commence.  Before you dust off the tinsel and the dancing shoes, you need to go through our checklist below so you can be sure you don’t end up with any after party surprises that could cause more pain than your regular hangover.

As HR Consultants, we are asked to advise on the how, when and what of giving an employee a warning....a lot.  It may seem simple enough – you are the business leader, your employee is behaving poorly or not delivering so you bang out a letter and put them on notice.  Right?  Well yes, if you want to get hit with action by Fair Work, or completely disengage an employee.   But if you want to do it the right way which will protect your business and show that you have been fair and followed process, and you are genuinely focused on trying to get the employee to do what is required, read on…

​You’ve invested time and money into recruiting the best candidate for your business and you ticked all the boxes in terms of interviews, capability assessments, reference checks and you have a candidate that is an absolute standout.  But how about a pre-employment medical?  Can you require it as a pre-requisite to employment and what can you do with the results?  

 
​​Small businesses typically take a fairly informal approach to appointing new staff.  Often it is done verbally and if there’s time, there may be a short written position description. Many don’t go the extra step in drawing up an employment contract.   While there is no legal requirement for you to provide an employment contract, it should be high on your priority list if you want to protect your business.  Here’s why:

HR Staff n’ Stuff has supported many clients who have needed to implement Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs).   We always  highlight the need to follow process to protect both your business and the employee.  When used correctly, they can have incredibly positive outcomes but when used inappropriately, they can cost a business an absolute fortune! 

​A recent case proves how costly it can be if you get it wrong.....

To those who haven’t done it, recruitment looks easy but the reality is that most small businesses get it wrong. OK, so that’s a bold statement and maybe a little harsh, but true nonetheless.  As HR consultants working with a wide range of industries, we see the damage that poor recruiting can do to a business.  Recruiting the wrong people ends up costing time and money – time and money that is limited and really needed elsewhere in the business. There are two main reasons that small business owners get recruitment ‘wrong’ - and we have 12 tips to help you get it right for your business!

A few of our clients are small businesses with around twelve staff - for one of them, what should have been a simple situation regarding annual leave became a frustrating series of poor behaviour that culminated in a tough decision being made once they received the advice from HR Staff n' Stuff as their in house HR consultants. 

​The story commences with the appointment of a new senior person in their business. The new employee informed the business owner that they had a pre-planned holiday booked for two weeks within the first few months of starting.  Although the new employee wasn’t entitled to leave, the business owner agreed to honour this time off - it was a reasonable request and can quiet often crop up when new team members commence.  But some will always try to push the envelope....

​Sham Contracting – is it really a big issue?  The Federal Government recently announced that the Fair Work Ombudsman will receive $2.3 million each year for the next four years to establish a unit dedicated to addressing the problem so yes, it is considered a major problem.  But what is sham contracting and how do you make sure your business isn’t involved in it?

​It’s getting cold out there and the natural desire is to don the warmest clothes you have before stepping out the front door and heading off to work.  But what do these clothes look like and what do they say about you as a business leader?  How do they position your business and you as an industry leader?  If you are the best in your field, what difference does it make how you dress?

Well actually, it can make a massive difference and it’s all decided within two seconds!