How often should wage audits be done?
In this video, Dean Tolkin recommends the frequency of wage audits for different types of businesses, emphasising the importance of annual audits, particularly when award rates are updated, and explaining why some clients may need audits more frequently.
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 insightful interview, Dean Tolkin provides a comprehensive guide to conducting a wage audit, a crucial process for businesses looking to maintain compliance with modern awards and Fair Work regulations. From ensuring correct employee classifications to analysing timesheets and pay rates, this discussion highlights best practices for auditing payroll and identifying any overpayments or underpayments before they become costly issues.
With the increasing focus on wage compliance in Australia, businesses must take proactive steps to verify that all employees are being paid correctly, considering factors such as overtime, penalty rates, and allowances. A thorough wage audit not only protects businesses from potential legal risks but also builds trust with employees by ensuring fair and accurate compensation.
Key topics covered
- How to classify employees correctly under modern awards
- Steps to analyse payroll data, timesheets, and pay rates
- Identifying underpayments and overpayments before they escalate
- Ensuring compliance with penalty rates, overtime, and allowances
- Best practices for maintaining accurate payroll records
- How wage audits can safeguard your business from compliance breaches and financial penalties
Watch the full interview to learn how a proactive wage audit strategy can help your business stay compliant and avoid costly payroll errors.
Transcript
Employees can do wage audits as frequently as they as they like. For some of our clients we do wage audits on a quarterly basis, on a six monthly basis. But we definitely recommend it's done annually, especially for those employees that have employees that are covered by modern awards. Because, you know, typically the awards, the award rates are reviewed in or around June every year in the Fair Work Commission then releases new award rates.
Generally there's an increase to the award rates that takes effect in July. So we tend to suggest to clients, it makes a lot of logical sense to run an order from one July to 30 June and make sure that in that financial year you're not exposed to any underpayment issues. But again, some employers like to do it more frequently to ensure that they have that ongoing compliance, especially in circumstances where they have a workforce.
Some of our clients have employees that you know operate aged care, aged care homes and the like and people are working around the clock, sleepover shifts and penalty rates are are incurred etcetera. So where you've got that type of workforce, it's recommended that wage audits are done more frequently.
