The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO)
polices businesses, ensuring that they
comply with their obligations under
the Fair Work Act and Modern Awards.
It audits approximately 30,000
businesses each year.
Since 2006, it has recovered well over
100,000,000 in underpaid wages for
staff.
A further $2,000,000 in penalties is
recovered each year.
Earlier this year, the FWO found
that almost half of all pharmacies in
Queensland were not compliant with
the Fair Work Act, showing
widespread failure to comply with
employment obligations.
A follow up audit will shortly be
conducted nationally, which will see
pharmacies being placed under the
microscope again.
If the Queensland audit is
representative of a national trend, there
is a real risk that a number of pharmacies
are going to find themselves in
breach of their obligations.
It is important to stress that if this
occurs it will not be because pharmacy
owners are wilfully mistreating their staff.
The reality is that the obligations are
highly technical and very difficult to
follow without the benefit of
professional help.
So, what happens if you are not
compliant?
The FWO has wide ranging powers
and can check your records for
compliance in detail.
If they find any breaches of the Fair
Work Act or your obligations under
awards, they will seek to remedy them.
If the problem relates to underpayment,
they will ask you to make good any
sums owed to staff, even if the staff
have moved on or have never made a
complaint about their pay.
Liability for underpayments goes
back 6 years, so can add up.
Underpaying 10 staff by just $1 per
hour over that period could lead to a
liability of $120,000, for example.
Pharmacies can also be fined for
each breach, as can individual directors.
Fines are up to $33,000 per breach
for a business and $6,000 per breach
for an individual.
For more information please see
www.pharmacyinsurance.com.au/
fairwork.html or call 1300 227 655.
This week’s
contributor is Tony
Carollo, Director,
Carollo Horton & Associates.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 19 Nov 12To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 19 Nov 12
