Discussion between AACS and the FairWork Ombudsman

20^th February 2017
Jeff Rogut, CEO of the Australian Association of Convenience Stores met with Cletus Brown, Director of Knowledge Solutions at the Fair Work Ombudsman to talk about the role of the FWO.
Jeff: Cletus, welcome, thanks for joining me today.
Cletus: It’s a pleasure Jeff, thanks for having me.
Jeff: Tell me about the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO), what you are, what you do and how you can help our members. I’m sure a lot of our members have heard ‘of’ your agency but may not be entirely sure what you guys do.
Cletus: Well Jeff, the FWO was established under the Fair Work Act in July 2009. We’re an independent statutory agency with responsibility for all National System employers and employees. The FW Act sets two main functions for us, firstly, to provide advice and assistance to the public on the Australian National Workplace System and secondly, to ensure compliance with national workplace laws.
Jeff: So these two main functions, can you give us a bit of a rundown on how you go about things? Let’s start with the education side of things.
Cletus: Our main education work these days is through our website www.fairwork.gov.au. We received in excess of 14 million hits on our website last year which is phenomenal when you consider there is only about 12-13 million people involved in paid work in the country. The site contains information on minimum rates of pay (including a pay calculator), different types of leave, ending employment, employee entitlements, awards and agreements and of course, how we can help. We also have on-line learning videos which have won international awards so I would encourage all your members, and their staff, to check it out. We also have the Fair Work Infoline (131394) which operates from 8am-5:30pm Monday to Fridays.
Jeff: What kind of information are employers and employees mostly after these days?
Cletus: They’re mainly seeking information on minimum terms and conditions of employment, such as pay rates, leave entitlements, penalty and overtime rates and also matters to do with workplace dismissal.
Jeff: So if any of our members were unsure on what they need to provide to their staff, then the FWO can assist them?
Cletus: Absolutely. I would recommend they visit fairwork.gov.au and set up their own ‘My account’, a free, personal portal available for anyone to sign up to. This enables them to save copies of awards that apply in their workplaces and subscribe to alerts if there are ever any changes, such as the annual wage review. They are also able to ask questions through this function.
Jeff: I think that’s a great idea that our members should look to sign up to Cletus. So tell me about your Agency’s enforcement role?
Cletus: Well, you and your members Jeff will be pleased to know that we have a Compliance and Enforcement Policy which sets out how we go about ensuring compliance with the FW Act and awards.
Jeff: (laughs) Another Public Service Policy…that’s all we need!
Cletus: Now, it might surprise you but you are not the first person to ever say that to me! But seriously, this document is worth taking a look at. It sets out the way we determine how we will respond to requests for our assistance and the range of enforcement tools we can use. This approach enables us to use our resources effectively and efficiently so that we can create a level playing field for all employers.
Jeff: By stopping some employers getting an unfair advantage by not paying the right wages?
Cletus: Absolutely. We want to create an environment where employers can compete for work based on their ability and not be undercut by someone doing the wrong thing by their employees.
Jeff: I must say I have seen a lot of media about the court actions you take. Do all employers you deal with end up in court?
Cletus: Not at all Jeff. To put it in context, we receive around 25,000 requests for assistance each year. About 50 matters are taken court each year, so this means that less than a quarter of one percent of matters we deal with end up in court. Those figures alone tell us that most employers try to do the right thing and if they make a mistake they are willing to fix it up.
Jeff: So employers making innocent mistakes won’t end up in court?
Cletus: We save court action for serious offences and we make no apologies for taking these employers to court and promoting our successes. If we investigate a matter and find a contravention and the employer works with us, pays any monies owing and puts in place systems and processes to ensure there is no repeat we wouldn’t take legal action unless the contravention was extremely serious.
Jeff: So if only 50 go to court, what happens with the rest?
Cletus: Well, we use the range of options available to us as set out in our Compliance and Enforcement Policy.
Jeff: Of course, sorry, you’ll have to excuse me; I simply haven’t had any time to read it while we have been speaking!
Cletus: (laughs) Any excuse! We do have a range of options available to us and which one we use will depend on the circumstances of the matter. Of course, some investigations show there are no contraventions at all and in those circumstances we would advise the employee accordingly and move on. If we find minor breaches we may issues Letters of Caution or Infringement notices and for more serious matters we can use Enforceable Undertakings. The important thing is to correct the contravention and ensure it doesn’t happen again. Ideally we only ever identify contraventions in a workplace once and then the business puts in place measures to ensure it doesn’t happen again. In a way we are not just fixing the ship but also setting it on the right path.
Jeff: Excellent analogy Cletus. How then does the convenience store industry compare to others when it comes to compliance?
Cletus: I think it has been pretty well publicised that there are some operators doing the wrong thing by their employees in your industry in recent years. And we will continue to pursue them because they are getting an unfair advantage over operators doing the right thing and they are damaging the reputation of your entire industry.
Jeff: Yes, I think you would have had to be living under a rock not to see some of the bad publicity some in our industry have attracted. We’ve run out of time but now that we have met I’d like to catch up on a regular basis and hear what the FWO is up to.
Cletus: It’s been a pleasure Jeff and yes I’d be happy to come back again and talk to you and your members. I think this is a great way to get information to people who need it.
Jeff: Great, perhaps over the coming months we can talk about both where people in the industry can get the information they need and the work the FWO has done with people who don’t do the right thing?
Cletus: Sounds like a plan. See you next month.