Fair Work focuses on record keeping

In March 2017, the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) released a record-keeping mobile phone application, ‘Record My Hours’, which allows an employee to take control of their own timesheet record keeping.

The FWO stated that there has been a healthy uptake of ‘Record my Hours’ by employees and it is being viewed by her as one way of strengthening audit evidence in the instance of workplace disputes escalating to legal proceedings.

The geofencing technology provides reliable data about the location of an employee which can assist in the provision of evidence where there are conflicting accounts of shifts between the employer and employee. The presence of metadata in the app also provides information about when shift times have been amended.

Keeping accurate records isn’t optional

When launching the app, the FWO outlined her views that employers were expected to maintain strong record keeping with complete information on employee rosters, shift start/end times, applicable allowances, employee personal details and shift location.  The FWO was clear that this necessary information should be part of an employer’s standard business operations.

While the majority of businesses meet this standard, in the 2016 financial year, two thirds of all court proceedings initiated by the FWO were linked to poor record keeping.

Franchisors are responsible for the actions of their franchisees

In the view of the FWO, the responsibility and onus on accurate and transparent record keeping is completely the responsibility of the employer - and that extends to franchisees.  If the executives of a fast food franchisor can ensure a burger cooked in Bundaberg, Perth, Melbourne and Parramatta can taste, look and be cooked exactly the same, then similarly the company can ensure all franchisees follow a uniform approach for payroll, recruitment and labour hire through third parties.

The FWO wants the labour supply chain management to be as high of a priority as the operations chain management. The question they ask when they are looking how far down the chain to pursue damages or backpay is “who is the beneficiary of the exploited labour?” This means franchisors may be held accountable despite their lack of knowledge or direct control of underpayments.

In closing

It is essential that employers ensure their internal record keeping of payroll documentation, payslips and time and attendance documents meets the same standards as the record keeping for all other financial and taxation documentation for the organisation.  Employees are now equipped with their own ability to easily record their hours and location of work, and the FWO has made it clear that this is a minimum standard of care that she will tolerate.