Payroll Myths

BAS Agents have a fantastic resource in the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers to obtain helpful and valuable advise when it comes to all things bookkeeping! If you have a BAS Agent working for your business as a employee, it may well be advantageous to have them become a member to ensure they have a wealth of information on hand to keep your business compliant.

The Institute of Certified Bookkeepers also has a vast variety of templates available that may well save you time and money. In this article, ICB invited Shane Duffy from Employment Innovations to attend and assist Leanne, Deb, Chris with the HR side of things.

EMPLOYMENT MYTHS

MYTH 1

Business managers are exempt from Awards.

PAYROLL MYTH | Managers are exempt from Award pays! Shane Duffy from Employment Innovation at @ICBAustralia HR Payroll workshop #payroll #employment pic.twitter.com/JYCUeojpSD

— MyOfficebooks (@MyOfficeBooks) November 12, 2018

MYTH 2

PAYROLL MYTH | Commission only staff are exempt from awards. The lovely @Leanne_Berry introduces Shane Duffy from Employment innovation (in partnership with ICB) at @ICBAustralia HR Payroll Workshop #payroll #employment pic.twitter.com/dC3IDvZFqx

— MyOfficebooks (@MyOfficeBooks) November 12, 2018

Commission only positions are exempt from award wage minimums.  Using the example of a real estate agent, the employer must have an arrangement in writing, certain conditions must be met and they need to prove that the commission paid meets the minimum real estate award.

See https://www.fairwork.gov.au/my-account/my-news/work-in-real-estate-are-your-commission-payments-lawful

MYTH 3

There is a myth while working within a probationary period employers do not need to pay the same entitlements as permanent staff. Employers may also assume if they dismiss a staff member during the probationary period they will not need worry about unfair dismissal. Let’s just say this is misinformation and you should check this free link from the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers for more clarity!

https://www.icb.org.au/Resources/Payroll/Probation-Periods

MYTH – TFN

If a employee fails to provide their Tax File Number they do not have 28 days to supply it. They must supply it before the first payroll or you are obligated to withhold 47%.

https://www.ato.gov.au/rates/fortnightly-tax-table/?page=2

FAMILY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LEAVE

1 August 2018 – Five days of unpaid leave over a 12 month period due to threatning or violence from a family member. Note, that they will lose annual leave and superannuation during this time off.

Link in Fair Work

https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media-releases/website-news/new-unpaid-family-and-domestic-violence-leave-entitlement-in-awards

JURY DUTY

Every state classifies Jury Duty differently not just for 10 days make up pay. But the law of the land is that make up pay is not considered normal ordinary pay, therefore there is no superannuation applied and paid as a base rate. You will need to check if the court has paid the employee and deduct that amount. In Queensland, Fair Work states that an employee must be paid for the first 10 days.

Create a new pay category called “Jury Duty” with superannuation & payg exempt.

See more on the Fair Work website:

https://www.fairwork.gov.au/leave/community-service-leave/jury-duty

As BAS Agents (certified bookkeepers registered with the Tax Practitioners Board)  it’s very important that we seek professional HR assistance when it comes to payroll. Wages change from state to state and in some cases month to month, when juggling our software updates, ongoing training & education, completing tax deadlines and keeping our books up to date it’s impossible to keep all the balls in the air at the same time.

As business owners, if you want to do your own payroll for your staff, it’s imperitive that you join up with a HR agency to guarantee your compliance. There are many options out there available, it’s a matter of you taking the time to call them up and see who is a good fit for you and your business. Please ensure that when you look for a bookkeeper to help you out it’s not determined by being the cheapest you can locate. By law, only a registered bookkeeper with the Tax Practitioners Board is permitted to conduct payroll called a BAS Agent.

The Australian Taxation Office with Single Touch Payroll will only become more proactive in ensuring your payroll is compliant with current rules. Ensure that regardless if you are a BAS Agent or a Business Owner you are diligent with seeking the right advise!

Amanda Hoffmann

Amanda Hoffmann is a registered Tax Practitioner / BAS Agent No.18613005, Associate of Finance, Xero, Myob & Quickbooks Proadvisor / Trainer and a Consultant for the Australian Taxation Office.

She says she is more than just a bookkeeper with experience in real estate investing, social media, podcasting, blogging and recently recording monthly youtube episodes

Amanda loves to teach smart, easy online cloud solutions and fix messy bookkeeping. Follow her on social media and say “Hi”