Fair Work admits online pay calculator errors – where can SMEs turn for advice on pay rates?

The Fair Work Ombudsman has admitted that some companies may have been given the wrong advice after using the regulator’s online calculator for pay rates, saying it has now corrected 40 errors that caused the app to give wrong totals.

The admission comes just 24 hours after the Fair Work Ombudsman released a separate report in which it stated 26% of 1,800 companies surveyed were incorrectly paying their staff due to confusion over transitional awards and pay rates.

The report has sparked a debate over penalty rates and the confusion facing many SMEs about what they need to pay staff – a controversy that has already seen celebrity chef and entrepreneur George Calombaris attack the Government over pay rates.

Fair Work Ombudsman spokesperson Craig Bildstien said in a statement there was a quality assurance process that took place to check information entered into the pay tools suite.

“From July to December 2011, we received 50 inquiries from external sources relating to the tools, as a result of which 40 amendments were made.”

“Obviously, if a business has made endeavours to obtain wage rate information using FWO resources, and at the time this information was incorrect, then clearly the Fair Work Ombudsman would take that matter into account if the business subsequently came to our notice.”

The Fair Work Ombudsman also said that as it cannot determine which businesses have accessed incorrect information, “we cannot contact them individually to alert them when we have made a change”.

The incident highlights the need for businesses to access accurate information regarding pay rates, especially as transitional awards continue.

But given the Fair Work site isn’t always the most accurate, where else can businesses turn?

Industry bodies

Most industries will have a central membership or advocacy body, where businesses can turn if they need advice. This will be more crucial for some industries over others, such as retailers.

Russell Zimmerman, executive director of the Australian Retailers Association, confirmed to SmartCompany membership for a year of his organisation will cost a business $395 for a single store retailer, with multiple stores paying a higher rate.

With that comes access to industrial relations and pay advice, along with a telephone advisory service for advice on pay.

While membership for other bodies can vary, most SMEs will be looking at anywhere up to $1,000 for a year’s membership. However, businesses should check whether industry groups have IR specialists on hand. While larger groups such as the ARA and the ANRA may have specialists, smaller groups may not have the resources.

Chambers of Commerce and Industry

Along with industry bodies, chambers of commerce and industry offer similar benefits including advice on industrial relations and advocacy. Membership rates will vary, as individuals are often allowed to join, but businesses will be looking at around the same price range for a year’s membership.

Many chambers offer tiers of membership. For example, VECCI offers bronze, silver and gold memberships that range from $460 to just over $1,000, all offering differing levels of service and access to advice.

Legal advice

There are plenty of industrial relations lawyers around, and for businesses that just need a little bit of advice to get themselves going, a short consultation may be the right choice.

However, for SMEs that don’t have thousands of dollars to spend on a legal consultation, you may have to shop around. There are plenty of individual IR lawyers available for short consultations, which can range from the hundreds to a few thousand dollars. Larger firms will cost significantly more, and in some cases may not even do short consultations that only last an hour or three.