Are you hiring staff and don't know where to start?
Employing staff makes Year End & Quarterly Obligations even more complicated than before so if you need any help with these obligations, please call or contact us to schedule a suitable time.
Do I need Work Cover Insurance?
Absolutely! If you are employing staff in Qld it is not only your legal obligation but also a social one. You must contact Workcover Qld (Worksafe Qld) and arrange a suitable WorkCover policy. (other states are similar, please refer to their relevant workers compensation insurance policies and Government obligations) . You will be required to estimate the gross wages that you will be paying (and this INCLUDES SUPERANNUATION) and they will calculate your premium for you. There are discounts and waivers for apprentice wages in Qld (subject to change) however you will still need a policy in place. You will also be required to lodge annual WorkCover declarations to ensure that your policy meets you actual gross wages each year.
What paperwork do I need from my employee?
There are a number of important documents that your employee is required to fill out, but here are our top 4 to help comply with your employer obligations.
1. Fair Work Information statement
The Fair Work Ombudsman requires every employer to give every employee a copy of the Fair Work Information statement. This is a downloadable PDF document that can be emailed to your employee. This must be given to them when or before they start working with you. It is a summary of the National Employment standards, outlining the minimum standards for all employees.
2. Tax Declaration Form
The ATO requires a tax declaration form to be completed and 'filed' with them within 14 days. Good practice however, is to have this returned to you by the employee before they start work, or at the very least, before you pay them. That way, you can be sure that you are deducting the correct tax, and have ticked the correct boxes in your payroll software. Back in the old days, these forms used to be mailed into the ATO, however today, with the access to online bookkeeping and payroll software, and single touch payroll processes, this information is now entered into your accounting software and electronically "filed"
3. Superannuation Choice form
There have been recent changes to the superannuation legislation, but either way, an employer should always offer the eligible employee a choice of superannuation fund. This has not changed.
An employer will need to give eligible new employees a Superannuation Standard Choice form and pay their Superannuation into the account they tell you on the form. Most employees are eligible to choose what fund their Superannuation goes into. There is no change to this step of your Superannuation obligations and if the employee makes a choice then there is no use of the stapled fund.
The new changes are around the process of what is called a Stapled Superannuation fund. If your employee doesn’t choose a Superannuation fund, you need to log into ATO Online services (Online Service for Agents or Online Services for Business) and go to ‘Employee Superannuation Accounts’ to request their stapled Superannuation fund details. The ATO is able to provide your employee’s Stapled Superannuation fund details after you have confirmed that you are their employer by lodging a STP report or a TFN Dec. If the ATO is able to and does provide a Stapled Superannuation fund result for an employee, an employer must pay they employee’s Superannuation using the Stapled Superannuation fund details the ATO provide you.
If however, there is no choice and no Stapled Fund then the employer needs to pay into a default fund An employer can pay into a default fund, or another fund that meets the choice of fund obligations if:
The employee doesn’t choose a Superannuation fund.
The ATO have advised you that the employee doesn’t have a Stapled Superannuation fund.
4. Personal details of the employee
Whilst many employers will have the employee's basic information from the resume' or job application, it's a good idea to format a standard form that captures all of the employee details in one place. This can even be helpful to cross reference tax file numbers and superannuation details when handwriting is difficult to read. We have a standard form that we are happy to email you, just
contact us . The basics include
Full Name & Date of birth
Official start date & the agreed pay rate
The applicable award & whether they are employed on a casual or permanent basis *This can often be misunderstood by the employee
Mobile number & Address
Tax File Number
Superannuation details
Bank Details for their wage
Email address for their payslip * Remember, you must provide a payslip to your employee on each pay and File the payrun with the Ato at the time of making the payment. How to do & file a payrun in Xero.
Do I need an agreement / letter of offer?
We do not offer HR advice and do not draft contracts of employment. There is no one standard when it comes to letters of engagement / employment but we strongly advise that every employment is treated with absolute transparency. It always seems to be the "grey areas" that cause problems. We suggest that every employment has an outlined letter of engagement that is signed by both the employer and employee and a copy is retained by both.
For further help and assistance you can visit the Fair Work Australia templates and resources guide
Employing staff makes Year End & Quarterly Obligations even more complicated than before so if you need any help with these obligations, please call or contact us to schedule a suitable time.
This articles intention is to inform rather than advise and is based on legislation at the time. Each Taxpayer’s circumstances vary so we strongly recommend that you discuss this information with your Tax Agent, Accountant or Bas Agent before implementation. If you take, or do not take action as a result of reading this article, we accept no responsibility for any financial loss incurred. This is general advice only. Source : ato.gov.au