Fair Work to help retailers as part of workplace compliance campaign

By Aimee Chanthadavong

The Fair Work Ombudsman will be contacting almost 3,000 retailers across Western Australia, South Australia and Northern Territory as part of a new campaign to help ensure they are complying with workplace laws.

As part of the campaign, free, specialised tolls and resources will be available to retailers at www.fairwork.gov.au/retailcampaign. This includes information about the General Retail Industry Award 2010 and a link to the PayCheck Plus tool, which employers can use to calculate correct rates of pay for staff, including minimum hourly rates and penalty rates.

There are also links to record-keeping and pay slip templates, best practice guides, fact sheets and an educational video for employers.
Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James said the retail sector has been selected for attention because it employs a large number of workers and generates a significant number of employee complaints to the Fair Work Ombudsman.

“This is a great opportunity for retailers in WA, SA and the NT to ensure they are fully aware of their obligations under workplace laws,” James said.

“We particularly want to ensure that small business operators, who are often not supported by an in-house human resources and payroll team, are aware of the free resources we have available to assist them to comply with their obligations as easily as possible.”

As part of the campaign, the Fair Work Ombudsman will also randomly select about 300 retailers in metropolitan and regional locations for audit early next year, with a focus on retailers located in shopping centres and on retail strips.

In recent times, Fair Work Ombudsman has targeted other states with retail initiatives, such as the Victorian retail bakeries campaign, and it will continue to remain focused on the retail industry with more to come.