Fair Work Ombudsman – Online Learning Centre

Managing and protecting a business by good record keeping is vital. Keeping track of employees’ pay and entitlements is one of the obligatory responsibilities of employing staff. A business is required to keep records and issue payslips to all staff, including friends and family members.

Employers who don’t keep proper records or issue payslips and find themselves in a situation where an employee makes a claim of underpayment regarding entitlements will be required to disprove any underpayment in court.

If no records or payslips have been kept then the court will assume the employees’ allegations are correct. The onus is on the employer to prove they have met their obligations. This is called reverse onus of proof and is part of the Fair Work Act.

On 26th March 2021, sections of the Fair Work Act relating to casual employees were amended, so now would be an opportune time for Bookkeepers and the businesses they work with to refresh knowledge around record keeping and payslips.

The FWO has developed a series of online learning courses to assist businesses and employees to understand obligations and rights within the workplace. The courses are free and interactive and take around 20–40 minutes to complete.

One of the several courses offered is a comprehensive overview on record keeping and payslips. This course will help you understand:

• What employment records are and why you need them.
• When employment records need to be made and how long you must keep them.
• What pay slips are and what details you need to include on them.
• How to handle common record-keeping and pay slip questions, respond to audits, and interact with Fair Work Inspectors.
• Tools and resources available to help you manage your obligations around record-keeping and pay slips.