The Hills Shire Times
(5th June 2009)

Bracing for change in an uncertain economic climate

Employers of all sizes need to brace themselves for the changes about to hit the workplace under the Federal Government’s Fair Work Bill, warns HR legal specialist Andrew Bland of BlandsLaw.

Speaking at the inaugural "Hills Human Resources Discussion Group" created by local recruitment and careers advisory specialist Cameron Recruitment, Bland advised that no business is exempt from the various changes that will take affect from July 1, 2009 and January 2010.

"It is vital that business owners have already commenced implementing good working procedures in the areas of human resources to ensure that they are compliant with the new reforms once they take affect," Bland said.
Large corporates through to SME’s are all being buffeted by the eroding financial climate and as such will be increasingly dealing with human resources issues such as redundancy and working hours. Bland urges companies to read the fine print of the new legislation when it comes to key areas of change including unfair dismissal laws, modern awards and national employment standards.

With many business owners having to take the hard decision to terminate staff due to financial pressure, they need to be aware of the new laws that govern this contentious area, Bland added.

In the areas of unfair dismissal, Bland said "if you have the proper system in place now for fairly dealing with employees, you will have a good enough case to execute any structural changes required in your organisation."

Cameron Recruitment Director Diane Humphries said there is a real need for credible information in the areas of compliance, especially during a time of economic flux and job uncertainty and has devised a monthly meeting group of local Managers to tackle key points of interest. In coming months the group will host forums covering areas such as successful mentoring in the workplace, corporate collapses, reputation management and career direction.

Next month’s discussion group features renowned corporate image consultant Evelyn Lundstrom from First Impressions canvassing effective business style and communication.

The Hills Human Resources Discussion Group meets monthly on the third Thursday at Crowne Plaza Norwest.

For further details please contact Diane Humphries on 8853 7838.