Everything just keeps on changing. This seems to include the last bastion of stability – the way we measure progress and change itself.
We all know the “old phrase” regarding statistics – “lies, damned lies and statistics” which while potentially funny is also untrue. We need statistics to make sense of all the data that keeps coming at us, we need to be able to understand the themes and key elements that statistics allows us to interpret.
I found this article in the Age by Peter Martin really interesting as it highlights that as we try to manage and come to understand the different trends and flows of employment in our economy, if we are not careful we can get lost in data and miss the message. Or even pick bits from the article to confirm our own beliefs.
If you are employing more and more part-timers in your business, it is critical to remember that you still have legal obligations to fulfill regarding their employment.
We keep stories of how part timers are badly treated. We are used to hearing stories from small businesses. What is really disheartening – and illegal – is that we are seeing more of the larger firms – who have the resources and the knowledge to know better – not fulfilling their legal obligations and apparently getting away with it. Seven Eleven, Coles, Costa and National Farm Workers have been in the news this year relating to issues of not following their legal obligations.
Of course the key question we need to ask ourselves is – is how up to date are our own HR practises and are we fulfilling them properly? The risks of choosing to deal with the compliance regulations of all staff “later” are to great to your business. They are also likely to arise when you least need them to.
Barbara Craven
Beaumont Advisory