😷  Health News
- Victoria has returned to Stage 4 restrictions for a 5 day short, sharp circuit breaker in order to curb the spread of the more infectious UK strain of COVID which has escaped from hotel quarantine. Several states have closed their borders to Victoria in response. The good news is that all community transmissions have been traced so far.
- NSW has chalked up 28 days with no community transmission – this is the longest period with no community transmission in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic!
- Australia has suspended the quarantine-free travel arrangement with New Zealand after new cases in Auckland over the weekend.
ℹ COVID in the Workplace Update
- A reminder that electronic recording of patrons continues to be mandatory for a variety of businesses in NSW to ensure ease of COVID tracing – visit this website for the list and how to set it up: https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/being-covid-safe/check-in
- NSW relaxed restrictions last Friday, returning to a 2 square metre rule for venues and fewer requirements for face masks amongst other changes. Read the full list here: https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/what-you-can-and-cant-do-under-rules
- JobKeeper is still planned to end on 31 March 2021 – is your business ready? The treasurer has acknowledged that some sectors will still require support after this cut-off date, but it remains to be seen what that might involve.
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Are you an SME with apprentices or trainees? If you haven’t already applied for the Supporting Apprentices and Trainees wage subsidy, you still can. Visit https://treasury.gov.au/coronavirus/businesses/apprentices-and-trainees for the details.
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Not sure what government support you might be eligible for? Review the Treasury fact page about coronavirus support for business here: https://treasury.gov.au/coronavirus/businesses
📰 Business & Employment News
- Staff underpayment is back in the news, with the University of Sydney payroll audit revealing an estimated repayment of $42million across all staff resulting from underpayment over the last 6 years. Are you confident that you are paying your staff correctly? If you’re not sure or need help, contact us for an obligation-free discussion.
- The Australian Parliament sits again in Canberra today, and the government’s proposed industrial relations reform will be a hot topic for this sitting period. The opposition launched its response yesterday, and it will be interesting to see where the compromises lie.
- One of the biggest and most contentious proposals relates to changing the Better Off Overall Test for enterprise agreements. In their submission to the Senate Inquiry, McDonalds has suggested that staff meals should be included as a non-monetary benefit when calculating the BOOT. Do you think this is a good idea?