​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.  

​Did you know it only takes a few seconds to form a first impression of someone and you really only get one shot at it?  In many cases people will likely form an impression of you before you‘ve even had a chance to say hello and if that impression is “not favourable”, it can take hard work to overturn.  Whether you are in front of your colleagues, your peers at a networking event, your direct reports or with a client, presentation matters, and it directly impacts your ability to be taken seriously. It’s pretty powerful stuff so how do you make a positive and professional impression?  

​​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
​
​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.

With JobKeeper still in place for many employers add in a range of upcoming public holidays and mix with reduced work hours for some and it can be a confusing time when working out who to pay what.  Here's a quick reference that should make it easier for you.

Well this year certainly has been a challenging year and most of us are counting down the days till we get to say ho, ho, ho and adios 2020, and hello to a bright new 2021!
​
So, it is a fitting time to take a look at the Christmas and New Year’s shutdown. A time when some businesses temporarily shut down or scale back and run on skeleton staff over the Christmas and New year period. This time allows employers and employees some time away from work to relax, rejuvenate and spend time with family while many clients, suppliers and business partners do the same.

​​With everything that has happened during 2020 it is understandable that Christmas may not be your number one priority.  Christmas isn’t just about planning the company end of year party – there are a number of considerations businesses need to look at as the calendar year draws to a close and we’ve got a quick overview of all things people-related that should be on your radar now. 

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?  

​Australia has worked hard to reduce the infection rate of Covid-19 and as Melbourne prepares to move out of Stage 4 lock down and businesses start to reopen, we all need to consider how we are going to operate within the new Covid normal.  We need to learn to exist in this strange new world in a manner that supports all the hard work that has gone into reducing infection numbers and the unknown community transmission cases because the virus is still present and is likely to be around for a long time to come.  

​With the end of the original JobKeeper program coming to an end on 27th September 2020, the legislation to extend JobKeeper until 28 March 2021 has now passed Parliament.
​
There are some important points to note regarding ongoing JobKeeper wage subsidy eligibility as well as changes to the Job Keeper Enabling Directions that many businesses have relied upon to get through the last months in a manageable way.

​Australian law dictates that businesses are required to register and pay for workers compensation insurance.  This provision ensures that your employees will be financially protected if they are injured at work and can also fund beneficial programs such as return to work so that you get your good people back on deck.  But like anything that is meant to serve the greater good, there are those that choose to attempt to misuse this insurance.  Let’s take a look at a real-life example one of our clients endured recently…

​
​In the midst of the craziest year most of us have ever lived through, we finally see a sliver of light with a common sense decision coming out of the High Court.  Court decisions don’t always make for very exciting reading but we think this one is definitely worth highlighting given the implications of the original ruling for businesses. ​

​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.

Unfortunately, the introduction of Stage 4 restrictions in Melbourne has seen additional businesses that had not qualified for Job Keeper earlier, now become eligible.  We are aware that many of these businesses had been doing okay during the last few months, so have not had to pay much attention to the Job Keeper legislation and what can and can’t be done……

​To help those businesses out, and also remind everyone else of what additional options you have available under the JobKeeper Enabling Directions legislation, here is a quick snapshot for you:

​The key to your business bouncing back from this lock down is your people.  You need willing and able teams to be up and ready to go when Victoria opens up again, whether it is on the factory floor or at an executive level.  The people who know your business, who are connected to your business, and who have been cared for by your business, will be the difference when you look to reboot.  To help you through, we have a few suggestions to help you lead your team through this really tough time.

​​​Under the Stage 4 restrictions in Victoria, there are new requirements for businesses that are able to remain operational.  Key points that you MUST know are below.

​Premier Daniel Andrews has today announced the changes that will impact workplaces as part of Stage 4 restrictions in Victoria.  More details will be announced as the week progresses but we have the following overview of the current information.  

More often than not, the same old thinking leads to the same old results.  To move forward we all need to adjust, adapt and review processes which means change is inevitable in any business that wants to be successful.   Sometimes it is not the idea or the change that we fail on, it’s how we manage the launch and implementation of the change. .  If you don’t have your team on board then the great idea or plans for change are at higher risk of failing.  How you manage change can determine whether or not you will have a successful outcome. There are some easy steps to follow to ensure you have the whole team driving in the same direction when you try to initiate change…..

​​Face masks will be compulsory for many in Victoria after 11:59 pm on 22 July and it has raised some questions as to what this means for businesses who have employees that are required to attend their workplace.  Let’s take a quick look at what your obligations and considerations are as an employer.

​Over the past few weeks much noise has been made about JobKeeper and demands to extend it, review it, amend it.  On Tuesday 21 July, the Morrison Government addressed these concerns about JobKeeper and outlined the changes that would see the subsidy extended.

​There are a million fads out there when it comes to business, leadership, coaching and performance management.  But EQ, or Emotional Intelligence, isn’t one of them.  Understanding the EQ of yourself and your employees is extremely powerful as business success can be driven by our ability to read other people’s signals and how we then react based on these cues.  

​
​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.

It is with great relief that Covid-19 imposed restrictions are starting to lift across the nation.  Kids are back at school and moving back to sport, cinemas are opening up, you can sit down in a café and you can get back to camping and use shared facilities.  But what about getting your team back into the workplace?

​Each state is at a different stage based on how they are managing Covid-19 and how it has been transmitted within communities.  So let’s take a look…

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.
​
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

The perils of employing casuals has hit the media again. Back in 2018, the Federal Court determined in WorkPac Pty Ltd v Skene that a casual employee may be able to claim annual leave and personal leave even though they were knowingly engaged as a casual employee and were paid the applicable loadings.  Or in simple terms – double dip.  Naturally enough, this set off alarm bells for employers with casual team members but a case that was decided this month has further ramifications.