Clear communication is important at your supermarket, and your employment agreement should be the clearest. With recent changes made to the statutory requirements and wage rates, supermarkets in Australia need to follow a confirmation of employment process.
Importance of Confirmation
Annual confirmation of the employment program allows you to communicate effectively with your employees and bridge potential gaps surrounding faulty systems, rapid growth, or compliance changes.
Confirming these details allows your employees to feel secure and in the know.
What is Confirmation of Employment?
Confirmation of employment isn’t an official contract or letter of offer, and it doesn’t change any details surrounding the employee’s position. It’s simply helpful in confirming communication requirements. It should be sent around the new financial year when award rates tend to increase. You could also send one at the start of a new enterprise agreement.
Confirmation of Employment Contents
A satisfactory confirmation of employment should include:
- Legal name of employee
- The date of the confirmation
- Legal name of your business
- The ABN of your business engagement
- The employee’s start date
- The status of the employee – permanent, permanent part-time, or casual
- Employment instrument
- Pay rate
For permanent and permanent part-time employees, a confirmation of employment is a great time to confirm their guaranteed hours – the days that they will work and the hours, including the start and end time, that they’ll work. For casual employees, it allows them to go through the casual conversion process again.
Suppose a permanent or permanent part-time employee’s hours are going to change over time. In that case, you could also clarify within the confirmation how the hours could vary – for example, by mutual agreement and the posting/acceptance of a schedule.
Within the agreement, it’s also necessary to cover all bases with communication by confirming other employment details like location, business policies, grievance policies, and more.
Communication at Your Supermarket
If you want to own a high-functioning business that runs smoothly and efficiently, communication is key. Communication creates comfortable and confident employees that always know what to expect and employees who see eye-to-eye not only with their colleagues but with those who hold higher positions as well.
Confirmation of employment is a necessary tool to get you and your employees on the same page.
If you need help with HR related matters, IndiHub members can utilise our HR helpdesk.
