Articles
Fine issued to an employer for underpaying backpackers
Source: ABC News Date: 12 July 2016 A Queensland restaurant operator who claimed a worker ate too much food and used too much air conditioning has been fined $21,000 after refusing to reimburse the underpaid staffer. The owners of Fire and Stone restaurant at...
ATO update – employee myths
Source: ATO Website Date: 11 July 2016 Stating in a written agreement that your worker is a contractor doesn’t mean they are, nor does it protect you from potential penalties for getting it wrong. This is a myth. The fact is, if your worker is legally an employee,...
What is a genuine independent contractor?
Whether a nanny is a contractor or employee can be complicated, and ultimately only a court can determine if someone is a contractor or employee. The ATO ( Australian Taxation Office) website has some general information on the differences between independent...
Nannies & au pairs – employment status and award coverage
The Fair Work Ombudsman the Australian government body that covers industrial relations in all states except for Western Australia has been reviewing the nanny industry. and has released the following statement. Nannies & au pairs in private homes employees? This...
Nanny | contractor or employee?
So you have recently hired a nanny who says they have an ABN number, allowing you to skip the whole annoying expensive time consuming matter of becoming an employer and paying them as a contractor. Be aware that in the long term, it may not be so simple. The...
Nannies targeted by ATO
The Australian Tax Office crackdown on contractors claiming to be business entities to gain a tax advantage has been extended to nannies and nanny agencies operating in cash or contractor roles. Now more than ever it's imperative to ensure you are paying your nanny...
Nannies working under sham contracts?
Now more than ever before it’s important to recognise the difference between an employee and a contractor with both the ATO and Fair Work Australia targeting the employment relationship and sham contracts. A sham contract refers to the situation where an employer...
Annual leave for nannies | going into negative
My nanny has resigned with a negative annual leave balance? When you hire a full or part time permanent nanny or au pair, they should be accruing annual leave, accruing at a base rate of pay on the ordinary hours. For a full time employee its a 4 weeks annual leave...
The nanny contract advantage
Employment contracts for nannies: Many nanny employers tend to view a written work agreement as a document that offers benefits and protection primarily to the nanny when in fact; the document offers legal protection to the parents, as the employer and should offer a...