Fair Work compliance basics every small business should nail

This is a plain-English walkthrough, not legal advice. For anything tricky, check with the Fair Work Ombudsman or your accountant.

Most Aussie small businesses don't get into trouble because they're trying to cut corners. They get into trouble because they don't know which corners exist. This is the short list of Fair Work essentials every small employer should know — awards, the NES, pay slips, and record-keeping — explained without the legalese.

1. Find the right award

Most Australian employees are covered by a modern award, a legal document that sets minimum pay, allowances, penalties, and conditions for a specific industry. If you run a cafe, the Restaurant Industry Award 2020 likely covers your staff. If you run a retail shop, it's the General Retail Industry Award 2020. Trades, beauty, fitness all have their own.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has a free Pay Calculator that will tell you which award applies and what the minimum rate is for a given role and age. Use it. Paying under award isn't just embarrassing — it's a civil penalty that can run into the tens of thousands per breach.

2. Know the NES

The National Employment Standards (NES) are 11 minimum entitlements that apply to every employee in Australia, regardless of award. You can't contract out of them. The key ones small employers should know by heart:

• Maximum weekly hours. 38 hours a week for full-timers, plus “reasonable” additional hours. What's reasonable depends on the circumstances.
• Annual leave. Four weeks per year for full-timers, five for shift workers. Pro-rata for part-timers. Accrues from day one.
• Personal / carer's leave. 10 days per year for full-timers. Paid, accrues from day one, carries over.
• Public holidays. Paid day off on gazetted public holidays. You can ask a staff member to work a public holiday, but only if the request is reasonable and they have the right to refuse.
• Notice of termination and redundancy pay. Tied to length of service. The Fair Work site has a scale.
• Fair Work Information Statement. Must be given to every new employee before they start, or as soon as practicable after.
• Casual Employment Information Statement. Given to every new casual, plus again after 6 and 12 months if they stay on.

3. Pay slips — every time, on time

You must give every employee a pay slip within one working day of pay day, in writing or electronically. It must include:

• Employer name and ABN
• Employee name
• Period the pay covers
• Date of payment
• Gross and net pay
• Hours worked and the rate (for hourly employees)
• Any loadings, allowances, bonuses, penalties
• Deductions (tax, super, voluntary)
• Super contributions — amount and the fund

This is the single most-breached obligation in small business Fair Work audits. An informal text message of “$850 in your account” is not a pay slip.

4. Record-keeping — the seven-year rule

You must keep employment records for seven years. Records include:

• Time and wages records — hours worked, rates paid, leave taken
• Super contributions — amount, fund, date paid
• Individual flexibility agreements (if any)
• Hours of work agreements for part-timers or averaging arrangements
• Termination records

Records must be in English, legible, and accurate. Cloud payroll tools like Xero, MYOB, and Employment Hero do most of this automatically — use one.

5. Super — the quarterly rhythm

You must pay Superannuation Guarantee on top of wages. The rate is legislated and rises on a schedule — check the current figure with the ATO. It must be paid to the employee's nominated fund at least quarterly, by the 28th of the month after the quarter ends. Miss the deadline and you pay the Super Guarantee Charge — which is not tax-deductible and stings.

6. Onboarding paperwork checklist

Before or on day one, a new employee should receive and / or complete:

• Tax File Number declaration
• Superannuation standard choice form
• Fair Work Information Statement
• Casual Employment Information Statement (if applicable)
• A copy of the applicable award or enterprise agreement (or a link to it)
• Written offer of employment with position, hours, and pay
• Right-to-work check (passport, visa, or citizenship evidence)

7. The mistakes small employers actually make

• Paying a flat salary that doesn't cover overtime or penalty rates owed under award
• Classifying a worker as a contractor when they're really an employee (sham contracting)
• Forgetting weekend and public-holiday penalty rates for casuals
• Not paying super on overtime that's actually ordinary time earnings
• Missing the 28-day super deadline, then rolling it into the next quarter
• Not issuing a pay slip because “they can see it in the bank”

Where to go next

Bookmark fairwork.gov.au. The Pay Calculator, the Award Finder, and the Small Business Showcase are all free and all written in plain English.

When you hire someone new, the onboarding you give them tells them exactly how seriously you take compliance. That's where ShiftReady fits: you upload your handbook and policies, we draft the training, they finish it on their phone before their first shift. Time-stamped, filed, and in the record for seven years.