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  Issue 48  I  OCTOBER 2018

In this edition: Aged care workforce, not so casual workers, resilience, digital economy, worker age stereotypes, employee experience and unfair dismissal, SalaryOne remuneration surveys

Articles in this edition include a review of Australia’s digital economy, a survey on working stereotypes, a report on the aged care workforce and an investigation into employee experience (EX).
 
With the announcement of a Royal Commission into the aged care sector, service providers are drawing attention to funding and workforce issues to improve the quality of care.
 
The KPI of the month is a snapshot of the WA NFP employment status. Regular casual employees make up 13% of the NFP workforce and may be affected by the recent Federal Court decision on casual workers.
 
We look at unfair dismissal and the 7 questions you need to ask to challenge an employee’s unfair dismissal claim.
 
Local governments and not-for-profit organisations are invited to participate in our annual salary surveys kicking off this month. Survey details will be emailed to subscribers soon.

Enjoy the read
Julian Keys

Julian Keys I Director

Disclaimer: The information provided in this newsletter is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate at the time of release on the Internet. It is the responsibility of the reader to make his or her own decisions about the accuracy, currency, reliability, and correctness of the information provided. 

While goods and services are becoming demonetized, knowledge is becoming increasing valuable. Spend at least 5 hours a week reading and learning.
Michael Simmons, Medium Corp

Australia's Digital Economy

A review of Australia’s digital economy and the impact of digital strategy on SMEs. ANZ research shows that SMEs who implement digital tools save 10 hours a week and boost revenue by 27% per year on average. 40% of SMEs have sought help to increase digital capabilities. Source: ANZ

Breaking Worker Stereotypes

A global survey on our changing working lives by the HBR. The results overturned stereotypes about old and young workers, finding that over 50% of older people are investing in new skills, are working harder to keep fit, and have no intention of slowing down into retirement. Source: Harvard Business Review

Transforming the Aged Care Workforce

A report on Australia’s aged care workforce by HESTA. Top 3 reasons for leaving for other health and community service sectors: wanting to develop new skills, wanting to try something different and not being paid enough. Source: HESTA

Focus on Employee Experience 

A report investigating employee experience (EX) in Australian workplaces. 90% of organisations are aware of EX however 2 out of 3 are not having regular dialogue about EX or using it as a formalised staff attraction and retention tool. Source: Human Capital Magazine

SalaryOne surveys

Spring is survey season for local governments (WALGA salary and workforce survey) and not-for-profits (SalaryOne remuneration survey). For the first time we are conducting both surveys direct through our web portals, rather than through a 3rd party application. 
Participating organisations can enter salary and remuneration data for over 150 positions and various workforce metrics. For participation and subscription enquires for both surveys, contact julian@salaryone.com.au.

Employment Status

13% of employees in the WA not-for-profit 2018 HR benchmarking survey were regular casuals and may be affected by the recent Federal Court decision on casual workers. 
The SalaryOne survey of 20 large NFPs covered a total of 9,400 employees. Read about the case here.

More workers want meaning over money

Research has found that 56% of Australians think that having a purpose at work is more important than their salaries, while 50% would prefer a meaningful relationship with colleagues, over a pay rise. 66% of Australians say they value happiness at work more than money. Source: HRM Online


The salary gap between people with and without a degree is narrowing

A Grattan Institute report shows that the earnings gap between Australian’s with a bachelor’s degree and those with only Year 12 qualifications is narrowing. In 2006, bachelor grads earnt an average of $14,862 more than those with only Year 12 qualifications, while in 2016 the figure dropped to $13,354. Source: ABC

Managing unscheduled absence

The Australian Public Service Commission publishes a guide on managing workplace absence, including ways to improve attendance, flexible working, and employee health and wellbeing. Workplace absence continues to be a challenge for the APS with an average unscheduled absence rate of 11.4 days per employee in 2016/17. Source: Australian Public Service Commission


New rate for work-related car expenses

The Australian Taxation Office has increased the rate for work-related car expenses from 66 to 68 cents per kilometre. The new rate starts from 01 July 2018 and applies to employees who claim work-related car expenses and employers who reimburse employees for using their car for work travel. Source: Australian Taxation Office

Unfair Dismissal: 7 Things You Need to Know

Source: David Bates, Switzer
 
Employees must meet several requirements before they become entitled to claim unfair dismissal. Employers facing an unfair dismissal application should be aware that they can challenge the legal validity of an employee’s unfair dismissal claim.
 
Here are 7 questions to ask, to ensure that you’ve covered all grounds for objecting to a claim:
  1. Was the application lodged out of time?
  2. Was the applicant an ‘employee’?
  3. Was the applicant actually dismissed?
  4. Was the applicant made ‘genuinely redundant’?
  5. Did the employee meet the ‘minimum employment period’?
  6. Was the applicant being paid more than the ‘High Income Threshold’ (HIT)? The HIT is adjusted each year and is currently set at $145,400.
  7. If your business is a ‘small business’, was the dismissal consistent with the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code?

Source: The Resilience Institute, Global Resilience Report 2018
 

Without change there is no innovation, creativity or incentive for improvement. Those who initiate change will have a better opportunity to manage the change that is inevitable – William Pollard.

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