People Matters - with HR Central

In Late August, the Fair Work Ombudsman advised that changes had been made to the Fair Work Pay and Conditions Tool and Pay Guides for the Timber Industry Award.

The changes to the pay rates are reflective of the following clause in the Timber Award:

20.7 Adjustment of rates for apprentices and juniors

Rates will be calculated in multiples of $0.05, amounts of $0.02 or less being taken to the lower multiple and amounts in excess of $0.02 being taken to the higher multiple.
 
Fair Work found that the rounding was not applied properly in the pay calculators for apprentices and juniors within particular Timber steams during specific time periods.  Generally, the rounding was higher than required but, in some circumstances, it has led to possible employee underpayments by only a few cents per hour.
Consequently, employers will now need to ensure that employees have not been underpaid during these periods and if they were, employees now need to be back paid. 

Here is a summary of the notice provided by Fair Work:

If you employed workers in the categories within the table above, we recommend that you complete a pay audit for those particular workers and rectify any underpayments.

Superannuation would generally need to be paid on any back payments. 

HR Central can assist with advice and/or pay audits. For more information, please contact HR Central on 1300 717 721 or email hr@hrcentral.support.