Wage review vs independent external audit of an enforceable undertaking

Wage review vs independent external audit of an enforceable undertaking = the difference between bittersweet and true job satisfaction!

THE BITTERSWEET JOB SATISFACTION!

Although we pride ourselves in conducting independent external audits with the utmost professionalism, integrity and effectiveness, the work can never be as gratifying as helping employers to prevent underpayments by spotting and fixing any potential issues without them going through the painstaking, costly and time-consuming process of an FWO enforceable undertaking (EU).

WHAT DOES AN INDEPENDENT EXTERNAL AUDIT ENTAIL?

As FWO-approved independent external auditors, we are engaged by employers who have been subject to an enforceable undertaking* to review their repayment calculations and audit their compliance with the Fair Work Act, going forward.

*An enforceable undertaking is a legally binding agreement between the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) and an employer caught underpaying their staff. Once published, it is available on the public domain for everyone to see.

= think about your “reputational damage” there!

After the primary stage of repayment calculation audit (pardonably called a “review”), the employer needs to go through a second stage of external independent audit (with the same or a different auditor of their choosing/approved by FWO). At this stage, the auditor will come onsite to review documentation, processes and to interview employees to ensure that the contravention will not happen again in the future. The most frustrating part is that, although, we, the auditors, are engaged by you, the employer, we only report to FWO.

= think about your “significant stress, cost, time and effort” there!

WHAT DOES A WAGE REVIEW ENTAIL?

A wage review is an internal periodic due-diligence process aimed at ensuring that your standard payment calculations are aligned with or greater than the minimum payments of wages and entitlements required under the applicable Award(s). After we input the appropriate Award rules in our system, we conduct a “mock payroll run” for your sampled employees (typically 5% of the targeted population and two pay-periods for a defined number of years). At the end of the process, the assessment provides evidence of either compliance or variances.

= think about your “peace of mind and compliance” there!

As HR and Payroll experts, we work with our clients to conduct wage reviews based on two scenarios:

1.???? If you simply want to ensure that you are compliant with the Fair Work Act and the relevant Award(s); we will work directly with you to assess your payment calculations. At the end of the review, we will send you a comprehensive report with our findings and recommendations.

2.???? You think you may have an issue of underpayment; we will recommend that we work through one of our partnering lawyers to ensure the information you disclose to us and findings we provide after the wage review are protected by legal professional privilege.

THE TRUE JOB SATISFACTION!

We pride ourselves in conducting wage reviews that will help you make informed decisions to prevent risks of underpayments and subsequent risks of court proceedings with the FWO. There is no better feeling than the satisfaction associated with helping organisations do the right thing and feel safe from a legal point of view.

The most satisfying part is that, unlike for an external independent audit, we work with you throughout the process.