Wage audits explained: Understanding the basics
Dean Tolkin explains the importance of wage audits in ensuring compliance with modern awards, discussing how employers can avoid incurring hidden liabilities related to penalty rates, allowances & other minimum entitlements.
About the speaker
Dean was shortlisted as a finalist in the Lawyers Weekly 30 under 30 Awards for Workplace Relations, Employment and Safety for three consecutive years (2017 – 2019) and was fortunate to have won this prestigious award in 2018. Dean was also recognised in 2018 in the Australian Law Awards as a finalist in the categories of Rising Star of the Year and Senior Associate of the Year and has been recognised as a leading employment law specialist.
Summary
In this exclusive interview, Dean Tolkin, a leading expert in employment law and workplace compliance, breaks down the fundamentals of wage audits and why they are crucial for businesses. Wage audits help employers ensure compliance with modern awards, avoiding costly legal risks associated with underpayments, penalty rates, allowances, and other employee entitlements.
With increasing scrutiny from Fair Work Australia and the growing number of wage underpayment cases, it is more important than ever for businesses to proactively review their payroll processes. In this discussion, Dean outlines common compliance pitfalls, provides insights into best practices for wage audits, and offers practical tips to help businesses avoid hidden liabilities.
Key takeaways
- What a wage audit is and why it's essential for compliance
- How businesses can identify underpayment risks before they become legal issues
- The impact of penalty rates, overtime, and allowances on payroll compliance
- Steps to ensure your business meets Fair Work obligations
- How wage audits can protect your business from financial penalties and reputational damage
Watch the full interview to gain expert insights and ensure your business stays compliant with Australian workplace laws.
Transcript
0:00
So wage audits are an important feature of the employment law landscape in that employees have obligations under certain modern awards to provide certain entitlements and benefits to employees under those awards which govern certain sectors of the economy and certain industries and occupations.
0:18
So really the purpose of a wage audit is to ensure compliance from the employees perspective with those minimum obligations because in the event that they're failing to comply, effectively what the employer is incurring is a, a latent liability in relation to, you know, various penalty rates, minimum entitlement allowances, etcetera.
0:36
These are all things that are specified that are required to be paid in those modern awards.
