The Closing the Loopholes Bill, introduced by Workplace Minister Tony Burke, has been pushed back in the Senate, with the opposition voting to extend the deadline for the findings of the report until February 2024. The Bill aimed to criminalise deliberate worker underpayment with hefty penalties. Australian Retailers Association CEO Paul Zahra praised the decision, highlighting concerns that the Bill in its current form would negatively impact workplace relations without productivity or any job benefits.
When hiring people into your business one of the most critical pieces of the process is ensuring you have a written employment contract. The relationship between employee and employer is fundamentally contractual, and all employees and contractors should have the correct employment agreement in place. The employee will also be covered by National Employment Standards and the relevant award for their role, however the benefit of having an individualised agreement means you can outline specific relevant terms not covered by the Fair Work Act.
