Pharmacies facing audits
April 30, 2013
THIS week the Fair Work
Ombudsman will be conducting an
audit of 400 pharmacies across the
country, checking for compliance
with their obligations as employers
under the Fair Work Act.
Edward Mallet, who’s managing
director of workplace relations
specialists Employsure, says his
company is seeing a significant
spike in enquiries from pharmacists
concerned over compliance and
other employment requirements.
The FWO audits follow last
year’s finding that almost 50% of
pharmacies in Queensland were
not compliant, which he said was a
“startling” level of non-compliance,
particularly given that pharmacy “is
not typically associated with poor
employment practices”.
An education campaign has
already been undertaken, and
the follow-up audit intends to
determine whether pharmacies
have taken the results in
Queensland seriously and are now
remedying issues discovered there.
“It is not to be taken lightly,” he
said, with the Ombudsman having
wide ranging powers including the
ability to visit and search premises
and to request disclosure of historic
employment data.
“These powers give the FWO a
remarkable level of access to your
business (more than the police
could get without a search warrant)
and they can also be incredibly
disruptive,” Mallett said.
Pharmacies which are audited
and found to breach the Fair Work
Act can be fined over $30,000 for
each breach.
Mallett urged pharmacy owners
to ensure that they are putting
the correct details on payslips,
maintaining employment records
for the required period of time,
make certain they are paying the
correct allowances and penalty
rates, and provide staff with a
copy of the Fair Work Information
Statement.
In the event that action needs to
be taken “you should act quickly to
remedy your problems before the
FWO visits.
“If you cannot show that you have
attempted to do the right thing
after the education campaign, you
will be looked upon dimly,” he said.
Employsure has specialists in
every state to service pharmacy
clients, with an obligation free
health check and advisory service -
see www.employsure.com.au
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