DO NOT BE COMPLACENT WITH STAFF WAGES OR SUPERANNUATION

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Posted July 16, 2018

There has been a lot of talk in the media lately about underpaying staff, including this highlight case on Napoleon Perdis and his former staff claiming nearly $100,000 in unpaid bonuses and other outstanding contractual payments. As staff become more aware of their entitlements and as workers unions become stronger and bolder, salon owners who make simple mistakes are at risk of claims and action that could cost your business thousands of dollars.

 

HABA have recently heard from a number of members about payroll processing services that have put their business in absolute jeopardy due to underpayment of superannuation requirements. For some payroll services, the processing of superannuation payments is considered to be an add-on service – not included in the advertised low-rate of managing your payroll requirements. This means that the business is not making the required superannuation contributions and in some cases, salon owners are being sued for underpayment and are required to backpay their super payments for 6 months, with interest attached. The responsibility of this falls completely on the salon owner, even though they may not have been aware of the situation.

 

The Australian Workers Union are currently targeting hairdressers, highlighting that they need to check for lost super or missing super to ensure that they have received their full entitlements. Lost super is superannuation that might not be in your current nominated superannuation account – whether you had a different job in the past that was registered with a different super fund or if you chose to change funds for different fees and not all payments were transferred.

 

We encourage all salon owners to do the same and investigate whether you might have any lost super through the myGov website and ensure that all of your superannuation is in one account, and therefore only attracting one set of fees.

 

The start of a new financial year is a great excuse for salon owners to double and triple check that they are fulfilling every aspect of their entitlements to staff. By withholding, not paying or paying superannuation incorrectly, small business owners open themselves up to the risk of huge fines, which can be disastrous for your business. It is important that you keep records of all your superannuation transactions (preferably electronically, and backed up on the cloud) to ensure that you can prove your obligations have been met in the instance any questions are raised.

 

Don’t get caught out and manage your superannuation effectively and efficiently with HABA Payroll.  HABA Payroll handles all of the necessary back-end work for salon owners, ensuring that all employees are paid correctly, given the right super and everything is in line with the latest wage awards and legislation. It acts as a protective layer and insurance policy for your business, allowing you to get on with the work of running your business.