Payroll Compliance: Building and Construction Industry

Payroll software that automates and simplifies the Building and Construction Industry compliance process.
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The Importance of Modern Award Compliance

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Besides highlighting specific terms and conditions surrounding employment in various industries, modern awards are also essential compliance documents for all industries in Australia. These regulations create an onus on business owners to determine whether an award applies to each employee within their workforce.
 
In the Building and Construction industry, this is no exception, making it crucial that you – as a business – know where your responsibilities sit.
 
You could be sanctioned heavily if you fail to comply with your industry’s modern award, as defined by the Fair Work Act 2009, such as incorrectly paying wages or not paying specific penalty rates and entitlements.

On top of this risk, continuing to contravene the Building and Construction Award can lead to severe consequences for your business, including potentially having to pay back any lost wages and rates to the employee(s). This can be seriously detrimental for most organisations, with additional penalties often ranging from:

  • Fines of up to $12,600 as an individual for each breach
  • Fines of up to $63,000 as a company for each breach.

Biggest Pitfalls in the Building and Construction Industry

Every award specifies minimum rights and obligations employees must receive as part of their employment agreement. In order to ensure fairness, consistency, and cohesion, awards differ according to industry.

The Building and Construction Award remains one of the most complex and in-depth modern awards in the Australian employment landscape due to the unique travelling requirements and broad areas of specialisation.

And unfortunately, while business owners have access to the Building and Construction Award on the Fair Work website, it’s replete with legal jargon and can be difficult to understand
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For example, given the outdoor nature of the work carried out within the building and construction industry, employees may be subject to rain or abnormal weather conditions. In these situations, the Building and Construction General On-Site Award proposes certain applicable conditions when it’s no longer safe to continue work.

The industry also has complex conditions related to travel and living from home. There is a whole set of (confusing) rules around what employees need to be compensated for when distant work is involved.

And given the level of scrutiny on wage theft and underpayments in recent years, there’s increasing pressure for businesses to ensure they’re 100% compliant with legislation and are responsible for the correct payment of allowances and entitlements their employees should be paid.
Another big pitfall for employers in the building and construction industry is the general award allowances.

The Building and Construction Award proposes specific allowances when employees have a particular skill or perform certain tasks. The allowances also apply when employees use their own tools or work in unpleasant or dangerous conditions.
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Many employers think they can just add extra money to their employees’ salaries or wages. But that’s not how it works. You must pay them according to each and every allowance applicable to their line of work. The penalties for not doing so are pretty hefty.

Unfortunately, there’s not much guidance from the Fair Work Commission regarding staying compliant with all its regulations.

So, what is the solution? Cloud payroll software and automated time and attendance software.
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Employment Hero Payroll

Employment Hero Payroll’s cloud payroll software automatically applies modern award or enterprise agreement rules to ensure your business remains compliant year-round. 

Beyond that, you can automate your entire payroll process from importing timesheet data, gross to net reporting and leave accruals for all scenarios to super calculations and ATO reporting.

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NoahFace Time &
Attendance Software

NoahFace offers an app-based time and attendance software called NoahFace Go which automates scheduling, time tracking and attendance records for site workers. 

In addition, the timekeeping records will automatically integrate with your Employment Hero Payroll software. 

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Employment Hero HR

Go paperless and automate the employee onboarding process with Roubler’s employee onboarding software. 

By incorporating everything you need to recruit, onboard, roster, and manage your construction team, Roubler increases efficiency and drives productivity across every aspect of your workforce.

How Pay Cat Can Help

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Pay Cat makes running a business easy by integrating HR and payroll management into one all-in-one solution.

We understand how challenging it can be to figure out your responsibilities as an employer with varying modern awards and industry regulations.
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Let our implementation specialists ensure your business remains compliant and in line with relevant regulations, awards and employee entitlements. Keep your company out of the danger zone and on track with a team that knows how these standards differ from one sector to the next.

Never get it wrong. No back pay calculations. No inefficient manual interpretation. No data re-entry.

If you’re interested in moving from a manual payroll system to an automated cloud payroll system, get in touch with us today for a free demo.
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Know Where You Stand 

Not sure what category your business falls into or what awards your employees come under?

Download our free eBooks below to see how relevant modern awards could impact your business. Best of all, these guides are entirely jargon-free so that you can understand your rights and obligations in plain English.