Minimum Wage 2021: What Your Company Needs To Do

As a business owner, you’ve probably already heard about the Annual Wage Review on 16 June 2021. We know you need to be on this. So here’s what you need to know.

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) increased minimum wages by 2.5% for all employees in the national workplace relations system, setting it at $772.60 per week or $20.33 per hour!

The increase applies to anyone who is paid minimum award wages or the national minimum wage. Similar to last year, the awards will be staged on 1 July 2021 with most receiving an incremental increase in pay from their employers.

The General Retail Award will increase from 1 September 2021. The FWC has also identified 21 awards covering industries deemed to have been hardest hit by COVID –the increase will be delayed until 1 November 2021.

The FWC will update the wage rates for all modern awards and any pay guides available.

Do you know which awards apply to your business?

For many employers, understanding the different awards for their workforce can be a tough and complicated process. The problem is that not only do some have more than one award to go by, but others make it worse when they don’t know which modern award applies to them.

Recently, several employers have been fined for underpayment of wages. The Fair Work Ombudsman is responsible for enforcing that the terms and conditions on any applicable modern awards or agreements are being followed at their workplace. They are now, more than ever, investigating all types of industries.

Now is the time to ensure you are ready for what comes with an increase. Planning ahead will help save a lot of headache and issues in the future when your business grows. Identify any applicable awards, make sure employees get paid correctly, enforce break times and pay frequency requirements stipulated by law before it’s too late!

If you’re ready to take the next step in growing your business, we can help. HR can be painful. Our team of HR experts do the heavy lifting, so you can focus on running the show. Get help now. Contact us today!