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Fair Work have announced a 3.75% Minimum Wage Increase – Here is all you need to know. As usual at this time of year, the Fair Work Commission has made its ruling on increases to the minimum wage and all other Award pay rates. The increase applies to anyone who is paid minimum award wages […]

Why Have Human Resources Policies? How many times have you heard (or said), ‘we need less red tape’, ‘it’s bureaucracy gone mad’ or some similar phrase to capture just how rule bound we are in business or in society as a whole? There is no doubt that at times, we all feel the frustration of […]

Where does Australia rank in terms of Paid Parental Leave? It is fair to say that when it comes to Paid Parental Leave (PPL), Australia was late to the party. Before the first scheme was introduced in 2011, Australia was one of only 2 OECD countries who did not have such a scheme. Even now, […]

By David Brown, General Manager Gone are the days when Human Resources (HR) was seen as the soft, fluffy administrative area designed specifically to carry out each and every manager’s wishes. As business has become more complex, the workforce more diverse and demanding and the regulatory environment more complex, human resources has been recognised as […]

In a market worth $327m per year and growing at 3.7% year on year over the last five years, Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) have been around for many years and are an established part of the employee services framework. Originally designed for interventions with employees who had drug and alcohol related issues, the scope of EAPs […]

In February 2023, the Australian Government took a decisive step towards addressing the gender pay gap with the introduction of the Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) Bill 2023. From this year, the findings are public, which means that companies will effectively be ‘named and shamed’ in the court of public opinion. […]

Written by Natasha Hawker Founder and Managing Director Natasha is a leading HR expert, entrepreneur, author and sought-after media commentator for outlets such as Sunrise (Channel 7), ABC Radio and The Australian Financial Review. Natasha co-founded Employee Matters in 2011 to help Australian businesses achieve success through their people. In this article, we’re delving into […]

Performance counselling is a valuable tool used to ensure that employees perform work in a manner consistent their job description and the organisation’s values, which in turn helps boost productivity and the smooth running of the organisation. Performance counselling, also referred to as employee performance management, is often used to address issues such as the […]

The impact of COVID-19 extended the concept of workplaces, with government restrictions during lockdown mandating working from home. This has paved the way for new forms of working, and the rising prevalence of hybrid workplace models has changed how employers manage their employees. One example of how employers have adapted to hybrid and remote work […]

Written by Natasha Hawker Founder and Managing Director Natasha is a leading HR expert, entrepreneur, author and sought-after media commentator for outlets such as Sunrise (Channel 7), ABC Radio and The Australian Financial Review. Natasha co-founded Employee Matters in 2011 to help Australian businesses achieve success through their people. In any thriving organisation, maintaining high […]