COSBOA notes the recent announcement by the President of the Fair Work Commission, Justice Iain Ross, on changes to awards to provide more flexibility.
Peter Strong, CEO of COSBOA, said today “the changes in the announcement by Justice Ross are welcome and will make it easier for big businesses, particularly those with employees working from home. Businesses that are not ‘customer facing’ will benefit from the flexibility as outlined in the report. Small business employers and their workers still need complexity removed, as well as more certainty around wages and conditions during a crisis. Simplicity breeds certainty, which creates confidence - and jobs will come from confidence.”
COSBOA notes the sectors that will benefit from the changes include insurance, banking and finance, accounting, and so forth. The business sectors and segments that will not benefit are those that are customer facing - which are dominated by small businesses - and include hospitality, retail, tourism, accommodation, advice services, hair and beauty, pharmacy, much of the traditional medicine sector, motor trades, petroleum retail, and so forth.
Mr Strong added “the only place where jobs will come from in the near and short-term future is from small business folk. We know the banks are letting more staff work from home and that means they will downsize, not employ more. That is the same for many other industries benefiting from the recently announced changes. We need changes that mean a business person knows that employing someone is not risky due to unwieldy and confusing workplace relations, and that an employee can quickly tell that they are being paid the right money. Then they can all get on with business, with earning a good wage, and with adding to the economy. We need people adding to the economy right now.”
COSBOA will provide more information on any proposals around simplifying the employment system once the industrial relations working groups auspiced by the Attorney-General Christian Porter are finalised.