Navigating the Australian Labour Market

According to the ABS, as at August 2022 the unemployment rate in Australia was 3.5%. This is 487,700 unemployed people who are of working age.

The ABS Job Vacancies report recorded and estimated 470,900 job vacancies as at August 2022.

“Job vacancies were 107.4% higher than they were in February 2020, prior to the start of the pandemic. The ongoing high level of vacancies reflects organisations across the economy indicating labour shortages and ongoing disruptions to operations, particularly in household goods and services industries.”

These statistics would confirm what many employers are experiencing – a challenge to fill existing vacancies, resulting in an impact on operations and pressure on existing staff to pick up the additional workload.

We’ve spoken before in previous articles about using this as an opportunity to refine your recruitment practices. At a bare minimum, organisations should:

Be clear about their Employee Value Proposition – in simple terms, what does your organisation offer to potential employees that sets it apart from other employers. Employees today are looking for flexibility, fair remuneration, learning & development opportunities and to work for an organisation that has values aligned with theirs.
Look at your advertising strategies and approach – think of recruitment as a marketing activity. Does your current branding and approach elicit the candidates you are wanting to attract?
Look internally – can you promote from within?
Be proactive – don’t just wait for candidates come to you. Use LinkedIn to contact candidates directly, look at opportunities to attend recruitment days at universities/TAFEs or other educational institutions and work to create a talent pool.

In addition to the above, organisations should start to think outside the box when considering the ideal candidate for the role. The Australian Government have several programs to support the employment of selected groups of individuals. These programs are often supported by incentives for employers. For example:

Transition to work – Transition to Work helps young people aged 15-24 into work. Transition to Work providers ensure young people meet employers needs and are supported to settle into a job by:

Providing pre-employment skills training that meets the needs of local employers and the labour market.
Providing work experience placements or internships to see if a potential employee is suitable for the job.
Negotiating Youth Bonus wage subsidies of up to $10,000 (GST inclusive) if you offer ongoing employment to Transition to Work job seekers.
Providing post-placement support to make sure your new employee settles into their job.

Mature Aged Workers – The Workforce Australia Services Wage Subsidy is a financial incentive (up to $10,000 inc GST) to encourage businesses to hire and retain mature age employees who are 50 years and over. Further information and resources are available here.

IncludeAbility – look at creating meaningful job opportunities for people with a disability. Visit here for further information and resources.

Supporting Employee Wellness in the Workplace

Employers have a legal obligation under the work health and safety laws to provide a healthy and safe workplace both physically and mentally. Beyond this obligation – focusing on workplace wellness makes sense for retention, engagement and overall productivity.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics did a national study of Mental Health and Wellbeing in 2020 – 2021. In this study, it was identified

1 in 5 people had a mental disorder in 2020 – 2021. (5.14M people)
1 million people are living with depression
2 million people are living with anxiety
4 million people saw a health professional for their mental health

Employers can play an active role in maintaining the health and wellbeing of their staff. These recommendations can assist in supporting employee wellness in the workplace:

Setting clear guidelines and job requirements
Making your employees feel valued
Use communication to reduce stigma and increase access to mental health resources
Open and regular communication between supervisors and their employees
Promote well-being as part of the company culture
Promote healthy practices and choices such as work-life balance, physical exercise, eating healthy and getting enough sleep

Tools to help support employee wellness:

Provide staff an Employee Assistance program
Provide mental health training to all employees (Liquid HR has a Working Well session that can be run for all staff)
Have a mental health policy in place
Offer flexible work arrangements
Have reward and recognition programs
Run staff engagement and wellbeing surveys
Facilitate group discussions to promote peer support and discussing mental health in a safe setting
Offer mental health leave
Promote regular health “check ins” to employees

Resources:

There are many resources available online that employers can access to provide support and information to their employees, some of these include:

What is the Purpose of a Probationary Period?

All full time and part time employees are subject to a probationary period. For organisations with 15 or more employees this period is 6 months. For organisations with less than 15 employees, this period is 12 months.

When calculating the total number of employees:

Include all full time and part time employees
Include all regular casual employees
Include employees who are employed by an associated entity

A probationary period is an opportunity for you to assess the performance and suitability of the individual for the role. It is important that you are having regular catch ups with a new employee throughout their probationary period. We recommend at a minimum this is conducted at the employees 1 month, 3 month and prior to the end of their 6-month anniversary.

If you terminate an employee during their probationary period on performance or conduct grounds, then they will be unable to access the unfair dismissal provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009. It is important to be aware that the probationary period will not exclude an employee from making a General Protections (also referred to as adverse action) claim. This is when an employee claims they were terminated due to a workplace right they held.

Once an employee has completed their probationary period, they will be able to access the unfair dismissal provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009, if you terminate their performance on the grounds of performance/conduct and they believe the termination was unfair.

You should ensure:

You have a probationary period specified in the employment contract
You have a process in place for reviewing employee performance and providing feedback throughout the probationary period
If you do terminate within the probationary period, you notify the employee verbally and in writing of the decision and the performance grounds (best practice would be to ensure this doesn’t come as a surprise to the employee. This can be achieved by ensuring regular and consistent feedback is provided throughout the probation period).

For further information on probationary periods, unfair dismissal and managing performance, refer to our Managing Performance HR Guide available in the Liquid HR Client Resource Hub.

Ask an Expert

Do casual employees accrue long service leave?

The entitlement to long service leave varies from state-state. Casuals have an entitlement to long service leave in each state and territory, however in Tasmania they need to have been working for 32 hours or more in each consecutive period of four weeks.

For the accrual rates and entitlements refer to the relevant state authority linked below:

For more information on the above, please contact us on 1300 887 458 and speak with one of our HR Consultants. If you are interested in learning more about our HR services, including HR Outsourcing, HR Consulting, HR Advisory Services, contact us at enquiries@liquidhr.com.au.