Dooley Blog

The Federal Government has a new scheme it is implementing to encourage businesses to employ older workers. Older workers are designated as people 50 years or older. Employers will be paid $1000 if they employ an older worker for 3 months or more. Minister for Ageing, Mark Butler, says the scheme will cost $10 million over four years and says it recognises the contribution mature-aged workers can make.

The new scheme will come into place in July as part of the Jobs Bonus scheme and comes as a result of the recent “Economic Potential of Senior Australians” report. The report highlights the value of employing older people.

Businesses considering employing older employees under the scheme should also consider the following. From research by Stephen Bastien, a US based business consultant, the following list were found to be the bonuses to business from employing older workers. He found they were reported more likely to be:-

1. Dedicated workers who produce higher quality work

2. Were punctual

3. Were honest

4. Were detail-oriented

5. Were good listeners

6. Had pride in a job well done

7. Had good organisational skills

8. Were efficient and confident to share recommendations and ideas

9. Mature from years of life and work experience

10. Good role models and excellent mentors

11. In possession of good communication skills, were diplomatic and understood workplace politics

12. Of a mindset that working for a company can be about much more than just collecting their pay each week and are shown to be very loyal

Older workers also offer something small business could find very attractive - flexibility. Not all older workers want to work full time which could suit the budget of small business well.

What are your thoughts on the Federal Government’s scheme? Do you think it will change employer’s hiring patterns or strategies?

 

 

 

 

Following on from our previous blogs regarding social media in the workplace - a recent decision by Fair Work Australia (FWA) has highlighted the importance of  a social media policy in any workplace.

In the recent decision of Stusel v Linfox Australia Pty Ltd [2011], FWA ruled that Stusel’s dismissal was unjustified. Stusel was terminated for making private comments regarding his managers on his Facebook page. This was labeled as serious misconduct by Linfox and in their view substantiated the immediate dismissal. However, Stusel argues that he had set his Facebook page with the maximum privacy settings making his comments visible to only a select group of friends.

FWA accepted Stusel’s argument that his comments were not made in a public forum and was purely an avenue for him to interact with only his friends regarding his work related comments. Subsequently, FWA ordered Stusel be reinstated.

FWA did not find that there was a valid reason for Mr Stusel’s termination and highlighted the importance of a social media policy. In short, FWA was critical of Linfox for failing to have a social media policy implemented given the “current electronic age”.  Had Linfox implemented a social media policy detailing what conduct was not acceptable Mr Stusel would have been in breach of the policy and this would have provided Linfox with a basis to take the disciplinary action.

What is social media?

Social media encompasses many different forms which includes internet forums, weblogs and social blogs to name a few. The most commonly known forms of social media include Facebook, Twitter and You Tube.

What should be included in a social media policy?

A social media policy should include the following key points:

1. A definition of social media
2. Unacceptable social media behavior 
3. Acceptable use of social media
4. Make employees aware of the dangers of social media
5. Consequences that will arise if there is a breach of the policy

It is important not only to have a social media policy but to make sure it is given to every employee, it is accessible and to reinforce the social media policy by providing regular training to your employees to gain its full worth.

If you would like advice about implementing a social media policy in your workplace please contact us to arrange a meeting.