HR For Small Business For Dummies, Australian Edition

HR For Small Business For Dummies, Australian Edition

by Paul Maguire
Released March 2014
Publisher(s): For Dummies
ISBN: 9781118640302

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Book description

The small business owner's guide to making human resources easy

More than 87 percent of Australian workplaces are small businesses employing fewer than 20 people. These small business owners know their markets, know their customers, and know how to make their small business run. What they may not know is the "people stuff." HR for Small Business For Dummies, Australian Edition, explains the simple ins and outs of human resources for businesses too small to have a dedicated HR staff. When it comes to the daunting task of complying with employment regulations, small businesses are treated no differently than big businesses, so it's imperative for small business owners to understand the regulatory framework that governs every phase of the employee/employer relationship in Australia.

  • Presents practical guidance on every major aspect of human resources for Australian small businesses

  • Covers key topics including recruitment, paperwork, workplace conflict, non-discrimination policies, wages, superannuation, workers compensation, unfair dismissal, redundancy, and more

  • Includes links to downloadable online resources, including checklists, sample forms, model policies, and guides

  • Ideal for small business owners and entrepreneurs, students of human resources, and independent contractors looking to grow their business

    • When it comes to hiring and managing employees in your small business, failing to understand human resources and employment regulations can cost you a bundle. HR for Small Business For Dummies makes human resources easy—so you can focus on business.

    Table of contents

      1. Introduction
        1. About This Book
        2. Foolish Assumptions
        3. Icons Used in This Book
        4. Beyond the Book
        5. Where to Go from Here
      2. Part I: Getting Started: So, You Need to Staff Your Small Business
        1. Chapter 1: Looking at the Big Picture — Before You Employ
          1. Understanding Your Reasons to Employ Staff
            1. Analysing what you really need
            2. Putting workflow design to work
          2. Your Recruitment Strategy: The Key to Successful Employment
            1. Describing your ideal employee
            2. Investment in staff can be profitable
          3. Checking Before You Buy Saves Heartburn Later
          4. Getting the Paperwork Right
            1. The importance of an employment contract
            2. Without rules, there’s chaos
          5. Managing the Employment Relationship through the Highs and Lows
          6. Pay, Pay and Pay Again: Remunerating Staff
          7. Making Sure Everyone Behaves Themselves
            1. Anti-discrimination in the workplace
            2. Bullying makes for an unhappy workplace
            3. Health, safety and workers compensation
          8. Ending the Employment Relationship
        2. Chapter 2: Building a Recruitment Strategy for Finding the Right Person
          1. Calculating the Investment in Your Staff
            1. Comparing costs with revenue
            2. Increasing revenue through adding staff
            3. Employing more doesn’t necessarily mean more profit
          2. Designing a Job that Suits Your Business
            1. Analysing the job
            2. Considering the form of employment
            3. Deciding when you want staff to work and for how long
          3. Describing the Job: Creating a Position Description
            1. Setting out useful headings and information
            2. Outlining your key selection criteria
        3. Chapter 3: Sorting the Good from the Not So Good
          1. Being Prepared with Key Selection Criteria
            1. Selection criteria versus the job description
            2. Using a scorecard
          2. Finding and Selecting Applications
            1. Opening up the field of candidates
            2. Creating a short list of suitable candidates
            3. Providing feedback
          3. Interviewing Techniques 101
            1. The engaging interviewer
            2. A bit like speed dating: Asking the right questions
            3. Really useful assessment tools
            4. Don’t go there! Topics to avoid
          4. A Fit and Proper Person
            1. Health issues
            2. Criminal record checks
      3. Part II: Getting the Ground Rules and Paperwork for Hiring Right
        1. Chapter 4: The National Employment Standards
          1. Understanding the Basics of National Minimum Standards
            1. Maximum hours of work
            2. Request for flexible work arrangements
            3. Parental leave
            4. Annual leave
            5. Personal/carer’s and compassionate leave
            6. Community service leave
            7. Long service leave
            8. Public holidays
            9. Notice of termination of employment and redundancy
          2. Recognising the Special Case of Western Australia
            1. Working out constitutional corporations
            2. Understanding the Western Australian features
        2. Chapter 5: Modern Awards and Pay
          1. Modern Awards and You
            1. Finding out which award applies to your business
            2. Getting to know your award
          2. Minimum Wages, Allowances, Penalties and Loadings
            1. Modern award minimum wages
            2. National minimum wage
            3. Employees with disabilities
            4. Allowances
            5. Shift loading, penalty rates, casual loadings and overtime
          3. Juniors, Apprentices and Trainees
            1. Juniors
            2. Apprentices and trainees
          4. Transitional Provisions for Wages, Penalties and Loadings
        3. Chapter 6: Calculating the Real Cost of Employment
          1. So Much Leave, They May Never Be At Work
            1. Parental leave
            2. Annual leave
            3. Personal/carer’s and compassionate leave
            4. Community service leave
            5. Long service leave
          2. Workers Compensation Insurance and Payroll Tax
            1. Workers compensation
            2. Payroll tax
          3. Paying Fringe Benefits Tax
            1. Defining fringe benefits
            2. Car fringe benefits
            3. Recording and reporting obligations
            4. Calculating FBT
            5. Reducing your FBT liability
          4. Don’t Forget Superannuation!
            1. How much and how often?
            2. Super choice: It’s an employee’s right
            3. Using a default fund
          5. Making Use of the Real Cost Ready Reckoner
        4. Chapter 7: Hiring: The Importance of the Employment Contract
          1. Working with an Employment Contract
            1. Express and implied terms of employment
            2. Impact of statutory laws
          2. Creating Your Own Employment Contracts
            1. Setting out the terms and conditions
            2. Creating templates
            3. Filling out the template to create a new contract
            4. Staying on top of important attachments
            5. Knowing who should sign the employment contract
          3. Confidentiality
          4. Attending to Privacy
          5. Using a Checklist to Stay Organised
      4. Part III: Putting the Employment Relationship to Work
        1. Chapter 8: Making a Good Impression: Orientation Programs
          1. Setting the Tone for the Future with Orientation
            1. Preparing and providing a welcome pack
            2. Reading, acknowledging and signing
            3. Talking about and facilitating performance
            4. Following an orientation checklist
            5. Evaluating orientation: Don’t be scared of constructive criticism!
          2. The Staff Handbook: Setting the Rules of Engagement
            1. Values, philosophy, goals
            2. Behaviour standards
            3. Dress codes
            4. General housekeeping
          3. Employment Policies
            1. Acceptable use of internet and social media policies
            2. Protecting intellectual property rights
        2. Chapter 9: Performance Expectations: The Wage—Work Bargain
          1. Defining, Facilitating and Encouraging Performance
            1. Defining performance standards
            2. Removing the barriers to performance
            3. Encouraging performance
          2. The Art of Measuring the Right Stuff
          3. Providing Feedback
            1. Handling appraisal interviews
            2. Learning from the experience
          4. Reviewing the First Six Months
            1. Applying a formal qualifying period
            2. If any of you has reasons why . . . speak now or forever hold your peace
          5. Addressing Poor Performance
            1. Warnings, warnings and more warnings!
            2. Running through a simple checklist and procedure
        3. Chapter 10: Pay Increase? You Must Be Joking!
          1. Adjusting Base Rates of Pay
            1. Recognising skills and experience
            2. Paying above minimum wages
          2. Rewarding Good Performance
            1. A job well done is its own reward . . . sometimes
            2. Providing fringe benefits and other rewards
            3. Paying bonuses and incentives
          3. Keeping Pace with Market Rates
            1. Getting the base wage right
            2. Competing in the market for wages
            3. Negotiating with unhappy staff
      5. Part IV: The Non-Discriminating Employer
        1. Chapter 11: Managing Workplace Conflict
          1. Understanding the Causes of Conflict at Work
            1. Sources of conflict
            2. Don’t ignore the signs of conflict (they won’t go away)
          2. The Heavy Hand of the Law
          3. Resolving Conflict: Simple Methods that Just Might Work
            1. Examining the issues
            2. Understanding the legal constraints
            3. Pre-conditions for resolution
          4. Selecting the Right Method
            1. Working through conflicts with your employees
            2. Considering alternative approaches
            3. Offering facilitation
            4. ‘A fair go all round’
          5. Third-Party Interventions and the Role of Government Tribunals
            1. Mediation
            2. Conciliation and arbitration
        2. Chapter 12: A Journey through Australian Workplace Rights and EEO
          1. Understanding Unlawful Discrimination
            1. Direct discrimination of staff
            2. Indirect discrimination of staff
            3. Discrimination against prospective staff
          2. Adverse Action and Workplace Rights
            1. Understanding adverse action
            2. Understanding workplace rights
            3. Navigating the minefield of workplace rights
          3. Get Proactive: Develop a Strategy
            1. Making reasonable adjustments for disability
            2. Educating staff
          4. Disclosing Personal Information Isn’t Against the Law
          5. Focusing on Suitability Not Disability
            1. Genuine occupational qualification
            2. Performing the inherent requirements of the job
        3. Chapter 13: Harassment and Bullying — Gee, Can’t You Take a Joke?
          1. It’s Not Always What You Say, But How You Say It
            1. Defining harassment
            2. Defining bullying
            3. Reasonable versus unreasonable management practice
          2. Underlying Causes of Bullying and Harassment
            1. Identifying the risk factors
            2. Reducing the risks
          3. Preventing Harassment and Bullying
            1. Educating your staff
            2. Using the policy as an education tool
      6. Part V: A Healthy Workplace Is a Happy Workplace
        1. Chapter 14: Safety at Work Is Everyone’s Responsibility
          1. Fulfilling Your Duty of Care
            1. Victoria and Western Australia
            2. Other states and territories
            3. Acting on health and safety
          2. Health and Safety Duties of Staff and Others
            1. Staff duty of care
            2. Duties of other persons in the workplace
          3. Prevention Is Better than the Cure
          4. Risk Management Is the Key to a Healthy Workplace
            1. Identifying risk
            2. Evaluating risk
            3. Treating risk
            4. Monitoring and reviewing
          5. Consulting with Employees and Others
            1. Consulting with staff at the right time
            2. Duty holders consulting with each other
          6. Applying Standards, Codes and Regulations
        2. Chapter 15: Workers Compensation and Rehabilitation
          1. Knowing Your Responsibilities
            1. Defining workers
            2. Understanding deemed workers
            3. Defining workplace injuries
            4. Injuries must occur in the workplace
            5. Excluding reckless and wilful behaviour
            6. Mental stress, anxiety and other psychological injuries
          2. Planning the Return to Work
            1. Rehabilitation starts right away
            2. Implementing a return to work policy
            3. Designing an individualised return to work plan
          3. Dealing with Doctors (and Not Getting a Headache)
            1. Communicating well with doctors
            2. Confirming incapacity and suitable duties
          4. Disputing Claims of Workplace Injury
          5. Managing Permanently Incapacitated Staff
      7. Part VI: The End of the Employment Relationship
        1. Chapter 16: Resignation of Employment
          1. Understanding Notice of Resignation Requirements
            1. Providing notice under a modern award
            2. Including resignation notice in employment contracts
            3. When notice isn’t needed from employees
          2. Working or Not Working the Notice Period
            1. Ending employment by agreement
            2. Payment in lieu of notice
          3. Termination Payments
            1. Annual and long service leave
            2. Tax and superannuation
            3. Withholding monies owed
          4. Exit Interviews: Finding Out the Reasons for Leaving
            1. Listening and learning
            2. Preparing exit questions
            3. Conducting the exit interview
        2. Chapter 17: Employee Dismissal: A Matter of Fairness
          1. Working Out Who’s Protected from Unfair Dismissal
            1. Employees who are protected
            2. Employees who aren’t protected
          2. Defining Unfair Dismissal
            1. Dismissal comes first
            2. Harsh, unjust or unreasonable dismissal
            3. Genuine redundancy
          3. Getting to Know the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code
            1. Understanding the code
            2. Serious misconduct
          4. Resolving Unfair Dismissal Disputes
            1. Settling during conciliation
            2. Putting your fate in someone else’s hands with arbitration
          5. Western Australia Is a Different System
            1. Fair and reasonable dismissal
            2. Remedies for Western Australians
          6. Unlawful Dismissal Is Something Altogether Different
            1. Workplace rights
            2. When unlawful discrimination doesn’t apply
            3. Unlawful termination of employment
        3. Chapter 18: Termination, Change and Redundancy
          1. Introducing Change into Your Business
          2. Working Out Genuine Redundancy
            1. It’s the job that is redundant not the person!
            2. Consultation
          3. Redundancy Pay Exemptions for Small Business
            1. Redundancy pay
            2. Redundancy pay and employment contracts
          4. The Selection Dilemma
            1. Looking at past performance
            2. Spill and fill
            3. Voluntary redundancy
            4. Watch out for hazards
          5. Working through a Checklist of Action
          6. Contemplating Business to Business Transfers
            1. Defining a transfer of business
            2. Enterprise agreements transfer with staff
            3. Recognising prior service of transferring employee
            4. Transferring employees and qualifying periods
      8. Part VII: The Part of Tens
        1. Chapter 19: Ten Ways to Build a Successful Employment Relationship
          1. Do Your Homework before Employing
          2. Welcome People into Your Business
          3. Explain Your Expectations
          4. Be Consistent
          5. Give Your Employees a Fair Go
          6. Celebrate Success
          7. Be Decisive
          8. Get to Know the Person Not Just the Employee
          9. Model Good Behaviour
          10. Always Encourage and Reward Good Performance
        2. Chapter 20: Ten Things You Should Never Do At Work
          1. Bring Family Problems to Work
          2. Blame Others for Your Mistakes
          3. Play Favourites
          4. Sleep with Staff (Not a Good Look)
          5. Pay Yourself before Others
          6. Act Inconsistently
          7. Avoid Saying Good Morning
          8. Jump to Conclusions (and Over the Cliff)
          9. Put Off Important Decisions to another Day
          10. Forget Honesty Is Truly the Best Policy
      9. Index
      10. About the Author
      11. More Dummies Products

    Product information

    • Title: HR For Small Business For Dummies, Australian Edition
    • Author(s): Paul Maguire
    • Release date: March 2014
    • Publisher(s): For Dummies
    • ISBN: 9781118640302