If staff are regularly taking work home to “catch up”, you may be contravening the Fair Work Act – even if you haven’t asked them to do this work at home. It comes down to the operational needs of their role and whether you, as the employer, are asking them to work an unreasonable number of hours.
The Fair Work Commission will ask:
- a) Does the employee’s pay recognise the
- b) Does the higher pay rate compensate the employee for any overtime, penalties or allowances applicable under their award?
- c) Are there processes in place to identify and authorise overtime payments?
A trouble-free workplace begins with setting well-defined guidelines on what is expected from staff and their role in the organisation. If it’s been a while since you reviewed your