As the year winds down, this edition of Whitsundays Workpulse will help you navigate the festive season and year-end operations with confidence and ease.
What should I be aware of?
- Award Changes: With tightening rules around “introductory/junior” roles, review your relevant award to ensure pay rates align with entry-level classifications and avoid unintentional underpayments.
- Horticulture & Pastoral Award updates: Prepare now for the 1 April 2026 changes to allowances for seasonal, piece-rate, and Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) workers.
- Hearing protection: Mandatory audiometric testing now applies for workers exposed to high noise levels (e.g., boat engines, harvesters). Get your testing done ahead of the holiday and peak production periods.
Start thinking about
- Christmas and year-end celebrations: Christmas and breakup parties time of the year means being “party smart”. Encourage responsible, safe celebrations. Ensure pre-event notifications cover relevant policies, including bullying and harassment, and provide guidance for safe travel to and from events.
- Holiday shutdowns: This is a good opportunity to manage leave liabilities by reducing accrued annual leave where appropriate, giving employees the necessary notice.
- Small gestures count: Consider small perks for all staff and casuals to show appreciation and build goodwill.
On the radar
Recent 2025 updates to the Franchising Code of Conduct require franchisors to structure agreements with franchisees fairly, including:
- Ensuring reasonable opportunities for franchisees to achieve returns.
- Providing mandatory compensation for early termination, including redundancy-related restructuring costs where applicable.
Local Industrial Relations Support
The Airlie Group provides specialist industrial relations and human resources to local industry.
They offer Chamber members a free of charge initial consultation on employee and industrial relations matters, resulting in structured general advice.
Contact Mark Lipkin and The Airlie Group today to start the conversation.
Give the Gift of Chamber Membership This Christmas!