How to be a good employer (3 of 3)
Lionel Walsh • July 15, 2023
The all-important sense of direction
Have you ever been woken at first light by your cat mewing triumphantly and presenting you with a mouse, dead or alive. Isn’t the cat crushed when you yell “Get that thing out of here”?
Imagine you are a mafia boss. Crime is your game, but you are very religious and would never commit or sanction a crime on Sunday, the day you go to church. One of your henchmen robs a bank on a Sunday and brings you the loot, anticipating the old-fashioned hug and the standard twenty percent commission.
Be fair. You can hardly give him the traditional concrete dunking if you have never told him that you do not approve of Sunday bank robberies.
These two real-life examples demonstrate why your employees crave a sense of direction. They want to do the right thing but the right thing for one employer might not be the same as the right thing for another. You have to tell them. You can (and should) do this by communicating your vision, your business plan and your policies. However, these alone are not sufficient, especially if they sit on a shelf unrefreshed for periods of time. You need to communicate your values and your preferred methods on a daily or weekly basis either face to face in the huddle or by training or work-shopping actual issues. The best way of all is by example. Never be a “do what I say, not what I do” employer.
Employees who use their initiatives generally have greater job satisfaction. You also stand to benefit by delegating but, in doing so, do not throw your employees to the wolves. It is common decency to make sure they feel safe by giving them all the training and information they need to make the decisions you would want them to make.
Communication is the key.
Remember, no blame. If they occasionally get it wrong (as you do) follow the correct procedure, as follows -
How do we fix it?
How do we reduce the risk of it happening again?
Admittedly, it is difficult to train a cat.
Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. There was a little girl, Who had a little curl, Right in the middle of her forehead. When she was good, She was very, very good, But when she was bad she was horrid. In no way am I inferring that AI is a girl, but otherwise the cap fits. if you define AI as information produced by a machine, it has been around for decades. The Ugly Between 2000 and 2015, the UK Post Office wrongfully prosecuted more than 700 sub-postmasters and postmistresses for theft, false accounting or fraud. Many of the accused were financially ruined, wrongfully imprisoned, lost their homes and reputations and suffered mental health issues. Some committed suicide. They were innocent. A flawed accounting system was incorrectly reporting shortfalls in takings. The UK Post Office believed the system and not the victims. To this day many of the victims have not been compensated. The full story is heart-breaking. Do yourself a favour and research it, or you might be able to find a four-part 2024 ITV drama titled “Mr Bates vs the Post Office”. Was AI or IT the problem? No. The software was flawed, but humans were the problem. This is the most horrific example you will ever find of how not to use AI. In Australia, you might remember the Robodebt Scheme, which the Royal Commission condemned as “crude and cruel” and “neither fair nor legal.” The Bad Firstly, do not give AI any information you do not want to be in the public domain (or in the hands of the baddies). Secondly, AI does consume enormous amounts of electricity worldwide, although currently not as much as cryptocurrency. Thirdly, AI “hallucinates” which is the term used for getting it wrong. You need to verify. If you press the wrong buttons on a calculator you get the wrong answer. You own the problem. If you blindly believe AI, you own the problem. The Good When it is good it is very, very good. Try it. Choose your most difficult problem, one that might take days to research. Then ask AI. I can almost guarantee that it will provide you with an answer within four seconds. It is next level and then some. Of course, you must verify, but overall it is a massive time-saver. I do not think anybody knows the future of AI, but it will certainly change the nature of many jobs. I am hopeful that it will be for the common good because I cannot envision a time when humans will not be needed. When calculators first came on the scene, the general opinion was that this would cause problems because people would not know how to add up anymore. When computers arrived, there was fear that many jobs would be lost. Now everyone embraces calculators and computers as useful and in fact essential, and the number of jobs has proliferated. I am hopeful that it will be the same with AI. One thing is certain. Ignore AI and you will be left behind.
Rise in the minimum wage: the impact for your business On 3 June 2025, the Fair Work Commission’s Expert Panel announced the National Minimum Wage and award wages will increase by 3.5% from 1 July 2025. This wage increase follows on from the 2024-25 Annual Wage Review and its recommendations. This increase in basic pay is great news for Australian workers, especially with the country facing an ongoing cost-of-living crisis. But how will an increased wages burden affect your small business? What’s the new minimum wage? The 3.5% increase will mean that the National Minimum Wage will increase by: $0.85 to $24.95 per hour $32.10 to $948.00 per 38-hour week $1,669.20 to $49,296.00 per year. How will the wage increase impact your payroll costs? If your workforce includes a large percentage of employees that are currently on the minimum wage of $24.10, that jump of 85 cents per hour will put extra pressure on your cashflow. For example, if you’re currently employing 20 people on the minimum wage, and pay them every two weeks, the salary component of your payroll will jump from $36,636 to $37,920. That’s an extra $1,284 on your payroll bill every fortnight – and that’s before you factor in super contributions and other benefits. Talk to us about preparing for the wage increase If you’re concerned about the cashflow impact of an increase to the minimum wage, please do come and talk to the team.
Your BAS refunds are under scrutiny after ATO extends notification period The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is now allowed additional time to notify taxpayers when their business activity statement (BAS) refunds are withheld for verification of information. From 1 April 2025, the notification period for the Commissioner has extended from 14 days to 30 days, allowing more time for ATO to assess high risk BASs and to align with the notification period for refunds arising from income tax returns. The Commissioner may retain a refund if it would be reasonable to require verification of information relating to the refund amount under s 8AAZLGA(3)(a) of the Tax Administration Act 1953. If the Commissioner does not notify the taxpayer that the refund is being retained before the end of 30 days (previously 14 days), the refund must be released to the taxpayer. Factors determining retention of refunds The factors the Commissioner considers in deciding whether to retain a refund are: the likely accuracy of the information — for example, unusually high or low claim amounts the likelihood that the information was affected by fraud, evasion or intentional disregard of a taxation law the impact of retaining the amount on the entity’s financial position — for example, solvency needs the complexity that would be involved in verifying the information, and whether the information provided by the taxpayer is consistent with information previously provided. Risk mitigation steps If you are lodging a BAS with a large refund, note that the refund may be delayed as the ATO may scrutinise that BAS and identify it as high risk. It is important in all cases to have the necessary records on file to justify the information in the BAS. Any legitimate refunds retained for over 14 days would result in the ATO paying interest to you (as is currently the case). If you have any queries in relation to this measure, please feel free to contact our office.
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Labor's $1,000 instant tax deduction aims to simplify claiming work-related deductions As promised in its election campaign, the Labor Government may introduce a $1,000 instant tax deduction for work-related expenses from the 2026–27 income year. Simplifying claiming work-related deductions The proposed measure will allow taxpayers to choose to claim a $1,000 instant tax deduction instead of claiming individual work-related expenses. Taxpayers who choose to claim this instant deduction will not be required to collect receipts for deductions less than $1,000 in total. Eligibility To be eligible for the instant tax deduction: a taxpayer must earn labour income for example salaries and wages a taxpayer must not exclusively earn business or investment income. Taxpayers who earn business or investment income may continue to claim their tax deductions in the usual way. Other deductions Charitable donations and other non-work related deductions would continue to be claimed on top of this instant tax deduction. This concession will be welcomed by many workers, but it does not seem to make sense from the Government point of view. If a taxpayer has under $1,000 in deductions, he or she can choose the $1,000 deduction. If the actual deductions are more than $1,000 he or she will naturally claim the higher amount. From the ATO point of view, this seems to be a case of "Heads the taxpayer wins and tails we lose". The concession is not peanuts. it is expected to increase tax refunds by $2.4 billion "over the forward estimates" which is code for the next three years, but as it does not start until 2026-27 tax returns, that appears to translate to $1.4 billion per year. Perhaps we should not get to excited until we see the wording of the actual legislation. Contact Us Have queries? We are here to help you navigate through them, please feel free get in contact with us.
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