May 09 Newsletter

Welcome to Beaumont Consulting's May newsletter. This months newsletter hopes to provide you with some interesting information as well other news and gossip. We hope you enjoy it.

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New Not-for-Profit Division

May 2009 sees another thrilling development for Beaumont Consulting with the launch of our specialist Not-for-Profit Division. The Division is to be headed up by Janine Runaghan from our City Office and Helen McNairney who is based in our Chatswood Branch, and the division will cover all Not-for-Profit organisations throughout Sydney metropolitan.

What is Not-for-Profit, Not-for-Profit?

An avid supporter of Not-for-Profit causes since our beginnings seven years ago, the development of our Not-for-Profit Division demonstrates our commitment to supporting the sector in a more formal way. Operating as an independent Not-for-Profit division, our focus is to support this sector by offering traditional temporary and permanent recruitment services at a fraction of the cost, without compromising on the same high quality and service levels our commercial clients are accustomed to. Any profit the Division does make over the year will be re-invested in training and events specifically for our Not-for-Profit clients and in the growth and development of the Division itself.

Nikki in particular and the rest of the management team are confident that this development will make a real difference to those organisations that cannot afford to engage the services of a professional recruitment business and to those that work within the sector.

Helen and Janine will continue to service their existing clients for the foreseeable future and are extremely excited to be involved in developing this new direction for our business.

If you know of anybody that you feel would benefit from this brand new service or anybody that would be interested in opportunities within the Not-for-Profit sector please contact Helen (North Shore) on 02 9413 1311 or email helen.mcnairney@beaumontconsulting.com.au or Janine (City) on 02 9279 2777 or janine.runaghan@beaumontconsulting.com.au. Alternatively please feel free to forward this newsletter.

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Start preparing now for modern awards compliance

Fair Work, the new Labor Government IR system, becomes law on 1 July 2009, replacing the old WorkChoices regime. Employers must ensure they understand the modern award system before it comes into effect, as the new Fair Work Australia regulator is likely to be vigilant in pursuing employers for non-compliance.

The changes may catch unprepared employers by surprise, particularly as they are likely to increase operating costs in certain industries.

"Employers are very much in the dark over award modernisation, especially those sectors that have traditionally not been subject to award coverage, which will now be covered by modern awards," says Schreier-Joffe, a partner at Harmers Workplace Lawyers.

"Employers need to make a thorough assessment of which modern awards will apply to them, and plan accordingly."

Schreier-Joffe says employers should be particularly mindful that all modern awards are required to contain a model flexibility clause, which can be used by employers to tailor flexible arrangements to individual employees' needs.

These provisions might mean that common law contracts that provide for above-award payments no longer insulate employers from award obligations to pay penalty, overtime and loadings.

Employers that pay an annual salary amount that includes leave loading may no longer be able to do so without using the flexibility clause and process contained in the modern award.

Modern awards might also result in higher costs for employers, particularly in industries that employ a large number of casuals, such as retail and hospitality. For example, casual loadings paid by Queensland restaurants will rise from 20 per cent to 25 per cent under the new modern award that will apply to the hospitality industry.

As well as increasing costs, the change has the potential to raise compliance issues, Schreier-Joffe says.

She believes the new Fair Work Australia regulator will be eager to ensure the new modern awards system is being complied with and says it is likely to be more vigilant in pursuing employers for non-compliance with these awards.

"In order for employers to understand the impact modern awards will have on their organisation and to mitigate the risks of possible non-compliance, a thorough audit of the terms of a modern award in tandem with an assessment of the needs of the business should be conducted," she says.

Schreier-Joffe recommends that employers:
• carefully assess which modern awards will apply to them.
• consider whether the specific demographics of their workplace make the terms of modern awards particularly onerous.
• determine whether it is still viable to require employees to work after-hours and on weekends. If they have traditionally used contractual arrangements to pay over-award rates of remuneration, they may no longer be able to do so outside of the model flexibility mechanisms, and if they use the new arrangements, they might face increased labour costs.
• consider whether any traits particular to their workplace will make it difficult to use the model flexibility clause.
• consider mechanisms to "insulate" themselves from the force of modern awards, such as a collective agreement, if it appears modern awards won't be the best form of industrial regulation for their workplace.

Article by HR Daily

We Recommend...

We have been working with e-Nerds, a North Sydney based Australian owned company, for over 3 years now. They provide IT Support to organisations with 20-250 employees who want business continuity, cost containment and maximum system availability to support their business.

Their management team and staff are second to none, always professional and helpful, as well as friendly and timely. It’s great to be able to work in partnership with a company that has similar ethics to Beaumont.
If you would like to find out more about how eNerds could help you, visit www.enerds.com.au Do you deal with any organisations that you would recommend to others? If so, we would love to hear from you!

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Mothers Day Classic

The Mother’s Day Classic is a nationwide community event, bringing together those who have lost someone to breast cancer and those who want to get fit and donate to a worthy cause.

Beaumont Consulting have a team entering the run, and have been "in training" over the past few weeks! If you see any of us on the day, please come and say "hi".

You can support breast cancer research by making a donation to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. You can do this by participating in the Mother’s Day Classic yourself, or by donating online

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Temp of the Month

Once again we have had some lovely feedback about our May temps, but it is Alison Beaumont (no relation to Nikki we promise) who has won us over this month with her dedication, reliability and outstanding performance in her role.

This is what Alison's current employer had to say about her……

“Alison’s most significant ability is that she cares about doing the job well. She has been temping in a very busy and complex role and has successfully got up to speed on our company structure and how to make things happen. She recently organised a two day conference for 50 people with minimum instructions and at very short notice. The conference ran extremely smoothly and we received a great deal of positive feedback from the attendees and the Director that she is supporting. She always deals courteously with people despite the challenges there have occasionally been in the role. She has also gone out of her way to provide feedback to the team and suggestions for process improvement when planning future conferences which is always useful.

Alison demonstrates a great deal of pride in her job and the desire to do it well. She has
worked additional hours without complaint and has also offered to take on additional work when she sees that it needs doing”

Thanks Alison – how lucky we are to have you.

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Whats on in May

Kings Cross Food and Wine Festival – 3rd May

Mothers Day - 10th May

Mothers Day Classic – 10th May

Million Paws Walk – 17th May

Sydney Writers Festival – 18th – 24th May