In May this year, an Australian disability services provider reached out to HR Assured. The organisation had been providing services for a number of decades and was doing amazing work in their local community – but the company needed assistance in ensuring it was adhering to all relevant HR compliance requirements, matching HR best practices, and helping staff receive the correct entitlements.
The solution began with the company completing a pre-audit questionnaire and sharing contracts, sample payslips, policies and other relevant documents. Senior Workplace Relations Consultant, Samantha Shariev, had a detailed conversation with the company about its employment practices, scrutinised and reviewed all the documents and information provided, and carefully prepared a detailed report not only highlighting risks and issues but offering specific solutions.
Among many recommendations in the thorough report:
- The company was advised about TOIL (time off in lieu) entitlements for staff, casual loading, and payslip requirements.
- Staff entitlements and conditions were assessed against the Social, Community, Homecare and Disability Services Award.
- Provision of leave entitlements as required under the National Employment Standards was reviewed.
The recommendations from Samantha were specific, focused and detailed, theoretically saving the company from potential compensation claims.
- It was noticed the company misclassified the Modern Award for its office workers and a solution was recommended.
- The responsibility of offering proactive casual conversion was highlighted.
- The formerly grey area around staff having meals with clients while on shift (outside of a meal break) was clarified and advised upon clearly, leaving no doubt about compensation rights around meals with clients.
Everything was delivered in a report which was colourful, easy to read, with an intuitive flow and helpful symbols to highlight which HR issues were critical – and the report included unmistakable legal advice.
Eleven pages of carefully thought-out guidance, and a one-on-one meeting to explain everything, meant a world of difference to the organisation, which swiftly began patching up its gaps.
The outcome? The company saved itself from potential penalties, got itself ship-shape for the next NDIS, WorkSafe and FWO inspection – and with better conditions, the company can now expect staff retention to increase.
If you’re feeling inspired to schedule your own HR audit through HR Assured, we offer an HR audit checklist of these essential tips:
Tip 1 – The more information you supply, the most incisive your compliance report will be
While your company’s HR audit can be as narrow or as broad as you like, the more comprehensive it is, the more effective it’s likely to be. It’s not just written policies which are important – unwritten practices will be examined too.
Tip 2 – Get ready for surprising legal updates
HR Assured’s Workplace Relations Consultants are always on top of updates to laws and regulations. Our job is to tell you about your obligations around anything from award compliance to flexible working to entitlements.
Don’t worry if your compliance report references a law you had no idea about. Our reports set your company up to succeed, not to fail.
Tip 3 – Even if your business is small, you’ll be guided towards high standards of compliance
Some small businesses have habits which aren’t ideal, due to budget constraints. For example, there’s a chance you’re using the same contract for all staff, regardless of role, seniority, employment history or awards. That’s okay – the HR compliance audit identifies your documentary needs and provides an action plan to meet National Minimum Employment Standards.
Tip 4 – Modern awards are going to be a crucial focus
We’ll help you take away the potential risk of underpayment claims and help you adhere to your obligations under the Fair Work Act 2009 by looking closely at your modern awards compliance.
Your HR compliance audit, step by step
Step 1 – Our expert asks you to fill in a pre-audit questionnaire
You sign up, and we organise for one of our qualified experts to meet with you.
Filling in the pre-audit questionnaire HR checklist helps us understand your organisational structure. We’ll ask about your employees’ status, operating hours, superannuation set-up and more.
Step 2 – You book the audit, give us the information we need – and the review begins
We review every piece of information you provide us, examining all your existing HR processes and procedures.
Most HR audits are remote unless face-to-face auditing is essential. As a separate service offering, you purchase our WHS service and HR Assured can conduct a workplace health and safety audit with specific WHS audit criteria, facilitated on a case-by-case basis.
Step 3 – We carefully curate your HR implementation report
HR Assured then prepares an easy-to-understand, comprehensive report. The report specifies where you’re at risk of a claim and why, what you need to fix, and how urgently you need to fix it. Of course, we’ll also tell you what you’re doing well and should keep doing – remember, it’s about helping your company to be its best.
Step 4 – The plan of improvement begins
We lay out everything you need to do to fix incorrect HR processes, documents, workflows and procedures. We’ll work with you to create a step-by-step action plan to fix any issues, recommending which ones to tackle first. HR Assured can also provide continuing advisory support through its 24/7 Telephone Advisory Service and show you how the HR software, HRA Cloud, can handle your records.
If you would like our qualified HR employment experts to write specifically tailored policies for your company, we can create these for you too.
Step 5 – Incorporating changes and improvement
We make the recommended changes to reduce your risk, which is facilitated for you when you start using the best-practice workflows and resources of HRA Cloud, and utilising the 24/7 Telephone Advisory Service on a regular basis.
Step 6 – Support continues, whenever you need it
Support doesn’t have to stop even when you’ve actioned our recommendations. You’ll enjoy the unlimited 24/7 support of our award-winning Telephone Advisory Service, which can help you sort out any HR issue or difficulty, step-by-step if necessary.
Call as often as you want. Talk for as long as you want. It’s part of the service that comes with your HR Assured subscription.
You’ll protect your business from risks and proactively fix them.
Choose the cost-effective way to avert potential problems and reputational damage.
Schedule a workplace HR Audit today.
Not ready to make the shift? That’s okay. Why not try us first? Arrange a complimentary, no-obligation workplace advice call and experience the difference. Arrange a call today!