The Latest from Kristy-Lee

Policies that support your business and team

If you run a business or an organisation, the Code of Conduct is one policy you want to invest in.

Creating policies for your business might not be the most exciting task, we get it – but some guidelines are essential, and this is one of them.

 Having a code underpins and informs almost everything your business does, from communication best practices to acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. In this blog post, we explore what a Code of Conduct is, where and why it's useful, and how it can significantly benefit your business.

What is a Code of Conduct?

A Code of Conduct is a formal document that outlines the guiding principles, standards, and behavioural expectations for all team members within your organisation. It serves as a set of rules and guidelines that govern interactions, communications, and behaviour between employees, management, and other stakeholders.

A well-designed Code of Conduct promotes ethical...

Understanding Motivation:

Understanding how to motivate your team can be one of the biggest challenges business owners, managers and leaders face. Finding the right people for your business is just the first step, once you have the players in place, getting the most out of them, motivating them and pushing for greater productivity and motivation is an ongoing pain point which can often feel like some sort of secret witchcraft.

Our Usual Default:

For many managers, when thinking of ways to motivate staff, our automatic default is to entice them with some form of incentive, or show them recognition with some sort of gift, reward or show of gratitude. Some people even think that the bigger the gesture, the more expensive the gift or reward, the higher the motivation should be.

Then, after outlaying the money, expecting a huge return on their investment by achieving high motivation across the team, they are disappointed, frustrated and resentful that their efforts have had...

Time to Pause

As we kick off a brand new financial year, it can be a perfect time to pause, and take a look at how we are tracking with our vision, goals and objectives for the year.

For many businesses the plans, goals, strategies and projects they put in place at the beginning of the year may be just gradually moving along, or in some cases things may have been switched direction, or upended more than once.

The New Year Shine

At the beginning of the year, we are typically all bright eyed and bushy tailed. We are refreshed from our traditional Christmas close down and break, we are motivated by our vision for the year ahead and excited to share it with our team.

For many of you that may have looked like a team planning and strategy day, where you got the whole team together, virtually or in person, to share the vision, get them excited and communicate clearly their role in making that happen.

That results in a great spike in engagement, as our teams all want to be part of...

At the time of writing this article, it’s smack bang in the middle of the calendar year, and the very beginning of a new financial year.

This is always a great opportunity to reset, revisit things and take a look at the structure of your team.

Maybe you’re starting to feel like the constant bottle neck…

Or like you are trying to squeeze a square peg into a round hole when it comes to someone on your team and the role they are in….

Possibly everyone is feeling stretched too thin, burnt out even and you know that at any moment one of those things you’re juggling is going to come crashing down.

Why We Feel These Pains

It’s not that your people are doing a bad job, or underperforming, but simply that the skills they have no longer suit the business, or that the business has changed and needs new skills.

All businesses face these challenges as they grow and evolve. The skills that were once critical to your service delivery perhaps are now...

At the time of writing this article, the Fair Work Commission has recently handed down its decision following the Annual Minimum Wage Review process. The process involves the Commission reviewing submissions from various interested parties, including employer and employee representative groups, as well as analysing data relating to wages, such as changes to cost of living and alike.

What is The Annual Minimum Wage Review

Essentially, they are looking to ensure that the minimum wages set out in the Fair Work Act, including the National Minimum Wage, as well as al Award minimum rates of pay, is set at an appropriate level for our current economic conditions.

What Else is Changing

In addition to the National Minimum Wage and Award Rate changes, we are in the midst of a raft of changes to Industrial Relations legislation, which applies to not only wages, but various other aspects of the employment relationship.

Keeping up with compliance obligations is one of the key pain...

In the ultra-connected ‘always contactable’ world, the lines between work and personal time have been becoming increasingly blurred, and for some maintaining a healthy work-life balance has become increasingly challenging.

The constant accessibility and expectation to be available outside of work hours can take a toll on employees' well-being and personal lives. However, a new legislation called “The Right to Disconnect” aims to address this issue by granting employees the right to disconnect from work-related communications outside of their designated work hours.

Understanding the Right to Disconnect

The Right to Disconnect legislation is designed to protect employees from unreasonable out-of-hours contact from employers, suppliers, contractors, and customers.

It does not prohibit employers from sending emails or messages outside of work hours, but it grants employees the right not to read or respond to them.

This legislation...

The Importance of Employment Contracts for Small Businesses

Employment contracts serve as the cornerstone of the employment relationship, outlining the terms and conditions that both the employer and the employee must adhere to. These contracts provide clarity and set expectations for both parties involved. Without a well-drafted employment contract, small businesses may find themselves facing legal issues and disputes.

For small businesses, having proper employment contracts in place is essential. These contracts not only protect the interests of the employer but also safeguard the rights of the employee. By clearly defining job details, hours, remuneration, and legal compliance, employment contracts ensure that both parties are on the same page from the beginning.

A well-drafted employment contract can prevent misunderstandings and disputes by clearly outlining the expectations and responsibilities of both parties. This is particularly important in small businesses...

Small business and fast growing entrepreneurial organisations who are looking to service more clients and bigger projects faster and more efficiently have always been creative in how to manage this growth in their organisations.

One of the key strategies many small business use to facilitate growth in a low risk, cost effective way, is engaging contractors rather than employees to help meet their growing client demands. And there are lots of great arguments for why businesses should utilise this option.

However, recent legal changes have made it imperative for businesses to revisit this issue and ensure they are correctly categorising their workforce. In this article we will explore the key factors that determine the classification, the potential risks of misclassification, and provide guidance on how businesses can navigate this complex question to avoid legal and financial consequences.

What’s Changing

Increasingly in recent years, the line between what...

Positive Duty Laws under the Sex Discrimination Act

The Positive Duty guidelines from the Australian Human Rights Commission have been developed to help organisations and businesses eliminate unlawful behaviour as much as possible in their workplaces.

In late 2022, the Respect Work Act was passed into law, marking a significant legislative change in Australia's industrial relations landscape. As part of this comprehensive legislation, a new legal framework was introduced, referred to as 'positive duty.'

This framework places an onus on employers to take reasonable steps to eliminate sexual harassment and sex-based discrimination within their workplaces under the Sex Discrimination Act.

The fundamental shift is that it's no longer adequate for employers to react to complaints as they arise. Instead, they now have a proactive obligation to implement measures that prevent these issues from happening in the first place.   

So, what are the Positive Duty laws?

This legal...

Understanding the Legislation as a Small Business

For many business owners who find themselves hiring staff and building a team, being compliant and doing things ‘right’ can be of real concern. It can feel overwhelming and like an extra layer of complexity you hadn’t considered when setting out on your business journey.

Understanding the entire ecosystem that is the industrial relations framework in Australia might really assist in demystifying and simplifying the complex legislative environment that underpins the employment relationship.

The Fair Work Act

At the highest level the key piece of legislation is called The Fair Work Act 2009, and this is the core which underpins the employer / employee relationship within Australia. The Fair Work Act, often referred to as simply The Act covers almost all employees around Australia.

In some States and Territories certain employees, such as Local and State Government Employees are not covered by the Act.

Additionally,...