Telstra Business, Workforce Guardian and COSBOA have created a FREE, online small business headcount calculator to help people work out what their obligations are when dismissing staff.

Under the Fair Work Act, businesses could face fines of up to $33,000 and wages payments of up to $54,000, and forced reinstatement, if they fire a staffer and do not follow the appropriate rules which are partly dependant on whether you’re officially considered a small business under the 15 full-time employees limit.

Businesses having difficulty working out if they comply with the new Fair Work Act can now use a free online calculator to find out. Telstra Business Group Managing Director, Deena Shiff, said the free calculator was for employers to determine whether they qualified as is a ‘small business’ under the Fair Work Act for unfair dismissal.

The new calculator is a joint initiative between Telstra Business and Workforce Guardian. Workforce Guardian Managing Director, Adrienne Unkovich, said that that the magic number ‘15’ that defined a business as ‘small’ under the Act was hard to calculate.

Ms Unkovich said “Determining whether your business meets the definition of a ‘small business’ under the Fair Work Act is crucial to understanding your responsibilities as an employer, as the definition of a small business for unfair dismissal purposes is a business with fewer than 15 full-time equivalent employees.”

“However the diversity of many businesses’ staffing arrangements means this isn’t just a simple headcount. With a mix of part time, casual and permanent staff, it can be a complicated calculation to perform. The new calculator will help you do exactly that in under 10 minutes.”

She said “All the states, bar Western Australia, have transferred their workplace relations powers to the Commonwealth so all businesses, apart from sole traders and unincorporated partnerships in WA, must ensure they comply with their obligations under the Fair Work Act.”

The calculator can be viewed at www.workforceguardian.com.au/tsuite

Information Source: My Business Magazine, www.mybusiness.com.au