A number of Gunnedah businesses have been found to be in breach of employment legislation during a region-wide audit conducted by a Fair Work Australia ombudsman.
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Across the mid-western region of the state, Fair Work inspectors found 152 of the 319 businesses audited were not complying with workplace laws.
Of the businesses audited, 107 (34 per cent) were found to be not paying their employees correctly and 73 (23 per cent) were discovered not complying with record-keeping and payslip requirements.
A total of $202,227 was back-paid to 264 workers in the region.
A Fair Work spokesperson confirmed to The Namoi Valley Independent a number of the businesses found in breach of legislation were based in Gunnedah.
“I can confirm that a number of businesses in Gunnedah were audited as part of the Fair Work Ombudsman’s proactive compliance and education campaign in the NSW mid-western region, with some of those found to be non-compliant with wage and/or payslip and record-keeping requirements,” the spokesperson said.
Gunnedah and District Chamber of Commerce and Industry vice president Michael Broekman said the chamber was available to help local businesses with any Fair Work issues.
“The legislation can be very difficult to navigate at times,” Mr Broekman said.
“By being a member of our chamber you will automatically have access to the NSW Business Chamber, which has a specific Fair Work hotline designed to help answer any questions business owners have.”
The vice president said more could be done to help clarify the legislation for small businesses.
“Fair Work is a great support for both employees and employers alike,” he said.
“In saying that modern legal requirements for local businesses are quite extensive and I think there’s a lot more the government can do to make it easier for particularly young people to help start a new business.”
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Fair Work ombudsman Natalie James said there are no excuses for businesses failing to meet their basic workplace obligations.
“It is just not good enough that almost half of the businesses in these regions were found to be non-compliant with workplace laws, when there is so much information freely available,” Ms James said.
“It’s not that hard for employers to check their obligations and if they need further, tailored advice, they can come directly to us for help.”
Employers and employees seeking assistance can visit www.fairwork.gov.au
Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
