Stop

Take your time before giving money or personal information to anyone.

Scammers will offer to help you or ask you to verify who you are.  They will pretend to be from organisations you know and trust like a business you deal with, police, government, or fraud service.

Think

Ask yourself could the message or call be fake? Never click a link in a message and ask a trusted friend or family member what they would do. Only contact businesses or government using contact information from their official website or through their secure apps. If you’re not sure say no, hang up or delete.

Protect

Act quickly if something feels wrong.

Contact your bank immediately if you lose money or personal information or if you notice some unusual activity on you cards or accounts. Seek help from organisations like IDCARE and report online crime to ReportCyber. Help others by reporting scams to Scamwatch.

How to protect yourself today:

Make your accounts as safe as your home. Set up extra steps on your accounts to stop people getting in. Add more steps to show who you are when you log into your online services and apps. This is called Multi Factor Authentication.   

This could be a code sent to your phone, a token or secret question. Your face or fingerprint or voice can also be the key to let you into your accounts. Ask your banks and service providers how to add more checks so no one can pretend to be you.  And don’t forget to tell them if you have been in a data breach. Visit the ACCC for more information. https://www.accc.gov.au/

Congratulations to Katie and Fiona who have been working on the same campaign and loved working with the extended team, telling us the whole thing has been a blast and we have a wonderful leader in our Manager Laura.

Laura our client had fantastic feedback for the ladies! Well done and Congratulations!

‘’Fi has been a rock-solid team leader to the Customer Service team! Fi is so proactive with all her work and always has time to help others and has been so adaptable and flexible in an ever-changing environment”

‘’Katie has been a wonderful support not only to the Customer Service team but also to the corporate team. Katie has had to navigate her way through complicated and detailed tasks, and she has done this always with a high level of pride in her work’’

When it comes to jobs, we’re in a time of opportunity that’s unlike anything seen in recent years. Job ads hit record highs in 2022-with far more jobs being advertised now compared to before COVID-while unemployment fell to record lows.

More businesses are searching for employees across virtually all industries and professions. In Oz, 3 in 5 peeps agree there are more opportunities to advance their career in this job market, research from SEEK shows. And change is working out well for many- 7 in 10 people who switched jobs in the past 6 months are happy with their move.

Plus, with the demand for workers so strong, you might have more negotiating power when you do go for a new role. What this all means is that even if you’re in a job you like, it’s a great time to explore your options and see what else is out there. You might even think of it as “flirting “with other jobs.

Why its worth exploring other job options now
Exploring your career options is about seeing what other jobs are out there, and what’s appealing about them to you. You might be interested in finding a different style of working, better work-life balance or more pay. Exploring other jobs doesn’t necessarily mean you have to apply for any right of way or quit your current job. It’s a matter of seeing what’s out there. Doing this can open your eyes to new opportunities that you may not have considered. It could also help you make changes to your existing role. Sometimes its not about starting from scratch but about adapting and making tweaks to your current situation.

I think it is always a good idea to explore what your other options are-especially if you’re feeling restless in your job or think something might be lacking in it. Exploring other options could help you revitalise your working life. Seeing what opportunities are available really can be beneficial to job happiness-especially if your current role doesn’t align with your values and drivers, particularly when it comes to salary, work-life balance, and career progression. After all, we spend so many hours at work, so its important not to settle for second best.

Staying in touch with what’s happening in the job market also helps you to explore whether your skills are adaptable to other industries or roles. While you may not actually move roles or companies, flirting with other jobs does give you a fresh perspective on your current role and how you might improve things or make a move in the future.

5 Steps to explore your opportunities

1: Start by updating your resume- its good practice to stay abreast of your skills and strengths and think about how you might articulate those strengths to prospective employers.

2: Set up or refresh your SEEK and LinkedIn profile- you create your profile listing your skills and experience, and you can choose to let potential employers contact you about opportunities.

3: Set up job alerts- another way to explore is to set up job alerts with various employers and recruitment agencies. That way, the types of roles you might be interested in automatically appear via email for you, without you having to commit to anything.

4: Do some skills and strengths assessments- strength testing is a valuable way to explore your values and aspirations, recognise your natural talents and then identify opportunities and pathways so that you make things happen.

5: Schedule a coffee date- Reaching out to people who can shed light on different roles or career pathways is also a great way to explore your options. You could reach out to a prospective employer, or someone working in a company or industry you’re interested in. Come prepared with questions you can ask them.

Why I’m uncertain about changing jobs?
It’s normal to feel uncertainty and hesitation around changing jobs. Research through SEEK shows almost 3 in 5 people say they’re worried if they change jobs, the new company might not be right for them. A good way to explore other jobs is to try volunteer opportunities, you can dip your toe in without having to leave your current workplace.

Focusing on your goals and doing your research are other ways to help overcome fear around changing roles.

Why now is the time to explore other jobs
With The Great Job Boom underway, we’re seeing more jobs, and less competition for them- so there’s never been a time like this to look at other job opportunities. Consider whether now is the right time for you personally. But even if it doesn’t seem like the ideal time, there’s still no harm in putting the feelers out, just to see what opportunities might pop up. You could find an opportunity better than you imagined- or the motivation you need to revitalise things in your current role.

It’s natural to feel cautious about changing jobs. But with more jobs on offer than ever, there’s never been a time like this for exploring new opportunities.  The number of advertised roles has steadily grown. The increased demand for employees means it could be a good time to consider changing jobs.

However, one in three Australians say it’s become much harder to assess new job opportunities compared to before the pandemic. Over half (56%) say they’ve been reluctant to change jobs because they feel secure in their current role.

Finding out about job security is hard, though, without inside information into the business or organisation. Asking the right questions during an interview can tell you a lot about the security of the role and the company, and how your potential new employer has adapted to change during the pandemic. I have suggested some specific, practical questions to ask during a job interview to find out about the security of a role and what it’s like to work for that business now.

Questions about the role
Part of assessing security includes working out whether the role is right for you, so that you don’t have to leave it just a few months in and find yourself back in the market for a job. Asking questions to better the role and the organisation will help you work out whether it’s the right fit.

1: What type of person usually succeeds in this role? Or what are the key skills and attributes someone needs to be successful in this role?

It’s nice to think we’re the right fit for a role we’re being interviewed for. Rather than assume this though, asking a question like this helps you discover whether you are a good fit for the role on offer. Is it what you expected it to be from the job description? Do you have the right personality, strengths, skills, and experience to be successful?

2: How do you measure success in this role?

This question will help you assess whether the expectations of the hiring manager or business are realistic, particularly given the challenges faced by many businesses now. This question will help you understand where the bar is set in terms of performance expectations, whether you think its realistic, and if it’s something you want to strive for.

3: What would be a typical career path for someone starting in this role?

4: What skills would someone usually develop working in this position, and what could this lead to?

5: What learning, and development opportunities are available in this role?

These questions will help you understand what the career path might look like and help to ensure you have a good sense of what the role may lead to on a longer-term basis. Organisations and managers who are clearly thinking about development and career progression can be a good indicator of job security.

Questions about the business or organisation
Plenty of industries and organisations have either directly or indirectly been affected by the pandemic. So asking some questions to get a better idea of those effects and what they’re doing to overcome those challenges may be useful.

6: What impact did the pandemic have on your revenue or profit (or business)?

This will help you understand how sustainable the company is, and whether they were able to adjust their business model quickly to the changing environment. This will also indicate how nimble the business is, and how resilient they are in difficult conditions.

7: What have you done to reduce risk and reposition you’re offering to customers?

This will show how the business is setting itself up to future-proof against future downturns and how forward-thinking and agile the business is. Have they learnt new and better ways to operate to protect themselves?

8: What is your medium-term strategy?

This will indicate whether the business is evolving and adapting to the new environment, or are they simply operating in the same way as before the pandemic and hoping for the best or not learning from the experience?

9: What headcount changes have you made in the last two years?

This will show how they have prioritised their staff and if they supported their key employees. Did they do what they could to retain people, or did they simply let them go as soon as the market was challenging, only to rehire again once the worst of the pandemic passed?

10: How have you adapted to flexible and remote working, including adopting new technologies?

This will help you understand if the organisation is looking to the future and learning how to evolve in the new world. Asking about technology will also reveal the options you have to continue working from flexible locations. If the business isn’t evolving, then its stagnating and in time could fail. Asking this question also provides you an opportunity to assess whether the organisation’s offering meets your expectations in terms of flexibility.

11: How do you feel you have performed compared to your competitors over the last two years?

Is the company taking market share or delivering on its objectives, creating opportunities for their employees? Or is it struggling to deliver and going backwards? This will give an indication of the future stability of the business.

It’s important to listen to responses to questions like these in the context of the past couple of years of the pandemic. Many businesses have struggled but kept their heads above water by being adaptable, innovative, and supporting their staff. Job security matters, of course, but it is important to note that being overly cautious can mean that a great opportunity might pass you by.

These key questions will reveal information about the business or organisation and potential level of job security. But asking them will also show that you have done your research and have put thought into the new role.

Thank you and congratulations to our wonderful temps of the month, we have received amazing feedback on your work performance and appreciate the work you have been putting in.

“Bernard is a reliable and dedicated worker who thinks outside the box to ensure our supporters are receiving exceptional customer service every single time. Bernard is also an amazing support to not only myself as his manager but also the rest of the customer service team”

“Tahlea’s attention to detail and kind nature is everything you would ever look for in a customer care/support role. Tahl has gone over and above in supporting the campaign and has taken all obstacles in her stride”

The rights of all Australian workers are protected in law, but the benefits and conditions of your next job depend on how you’re employed. If you’re considering a part-time or casual role, what are you entitled to?

Part-time versus casual
The key differences between part-time and casual come down to:

• Hours worked
• Leave entitlements
• Payment terms
• The way employment can be terminated

Hours
While part-time employees work a set number of hours per week (fewer than 38 hours), the hours that casuals work may vary-and the number of hours is not guaranteed. Casual employment has flexible hours which change according to a roster, while part-time employment involves set shifts.

If you work PT, your hours are generally the same from week to week. If you’re a casual worker, you’re not obliged to work the hours you’re offered, but you also can’t demand hours. Most modern employment awards include the minimum or maximum number of hours for a casual shift. For instance, if you’re a casual worker in a restaurant, can work a maximum of 12 hours per day or per shift, according to the Restaurant Industry Award 2020. Part time employees work set hours and there must be agreement to amend these, while casual employees work to rosters which can change in accordance with the roster period.

Wages
PT employees earn a consistent wage based on their ordinary hours of work and they usually don’t receive additional pay for reasonable overtime. Casual employees are paid on an hourly basis and the rate may be higher than part-time employees due to a “casual loading”, which is an additional payment on top of the higher hourly rate. Casual employees generally receive a casual loading of 25%, while part-time employees do not. Both casual and PT employees receive superannuation on their earnings.

Businesses are required to pay superannuation contributions to employees aged over 18, and to employees aged under 18 who work more than 30 hours in a week.

Benefits and entitlements
PT employees receive the whole suite of benefits under the Fair Work Act, such as paid annual leave and paid personal/carers leave. While casual workers don’t receive paid leave, they have entitlements under the National Employment Standards. These include two days unpaid carers leave and two days unpaid compassionate leave per occasion, as well as five days unpaid family and domestic violence leave (in a 12month period) and unpaid community service leave. Casual employees do not accrue annual or personal leave, but part-time employees do.

Dismissal
CAS employment can generally be ended with one days’ notice, while PT employees are owed notice under the National Employment Standards. The notice period for PT work starts the day after an employer says that they are ending the employment. The minimum notice periods generally depend on the length of continuous service, but employees aged over 45 years old who have worked for the employer for at least two years receive an extra week of notice.

PT employees may also receive a redundancy payout from their employers and have greater protection from unfair dismissal. The Fair Work Act regards a dismissal to be unfair if it is “harsh, unjust or unreasonable”. For instance, if an employer dismisses a PT employee without reason it may be considered unfair under the Fair Work Act. Employees must be afforded procedural fairness when being dismissed.

In general, casual employees are not protected from unfair dismissal. However, if a CAS employee has been employed for at least six months on a regular and systematic basis and has reasonable expectation of continuing employment on that basis, they’ll be protected. Whether this is the case will depend on the individual circumstances of the casual employee’s employment.

Legal Rights
All workers in Australia are legally entitled to safe and fair employment. These rights are covered in work health and safety (WHS), workers compensation and equal opportunity legislations.

For instance, your employer is required to provide adequate training and information to make sure that you’re safe from injury and risks to your health. The model WHS Act defines “health” as both physical and psychological health. This means your employer must manage the health and safety risks of workplace bullying, as well as risks associated with your physical work environment.

Work Cover schemes, which are also known as WorkSafe or Return To Work in some states, ensure that workers can make a claim for compensation if they are injured at work. Employers also have a legal responsibility to ensure that everyone who works for them is treated fairly and with respect.

If a part time or casual employee is discriminated against, they can make a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission.

If a PT or CAS employee believes they have been unfairly dismissed, they can make a claim to the Fair Work Commission. However, in the case of a CAS employee they would need to be a regular and Systematic casual employee.

Before you accept FT, PT or CAS work, its important to know what’s involved in terms of your rights, benefits, and the flexibility you have. If you’re unsure about or need help with any of these issues, its best to contact a specialist employment lawyer.

Understanding your employment rights can give you an extra layer of confidence at work. Your benefits and entitlements will differ depending on how you’re employed. Before you accept your next role, consider the conditions that matter most to you.

“Information provided in this article is general only and it does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Before taking any course of action related to this article you should make your own enquiries and seek independent advice on whether it is suitable for your circumstances”.

Does the “rank-and-yank” system of measuring employees against each other boost performance? Researchers say yes it can, (I say No) as the negatives outweigh the benefits. The idea is that the “fear” of losing a job due to poor performance can help motivate employees to work harder?

I dislike that this method is rearing its ugly head again as I’d hoped this “Management by Fear” (which is what it was referred to when I was commencing my training in HR some 27 years ago) had long died off. Nope, still alive, and well! Known now as ‘rank-and-yank’ the performance review system sees employers rank their workers and “yank” or fire those who are underperforming. It is used by companies such as Yahoo, Amazon, and IBM.

Research has found that when job insecurity is extremely high, employees increased their performance and took on extra tasks. However, motivating effects were very weak and far outweighed by negative impacts on employee attitudes, organisational commitment, health, and wellbeing.

While increasing employee performance was important, job insecurity was unlikely to achieve it, the researchers said, particularly considering the low unemployment rate. Instead, employers should offer better wages, opportunities for training and career advancement, autonomy over their work, and more decision-making opportunities.

Nicole says she is loving her assignment. “Everyone is lovely. I wish I could work the longer hours however how lucky that they can work around my family commitments, you do not often find that kind of flexibility”

Client feedback on Nicole

Nicole is a brilliant and efficient worker and is an enormous asset to the customer service team, she always goes over and above in assisting all supporters (donors and participants) and is an amazing team player!

Karen shares that her role is all coming together and is fun now she is on the phones and getting through the tickets and it is a great environment to be a part of.

Client feedback on Karen

Kaz has been wonderfully supportive since day dot and makes a brilliant team leader. Kaz takes everything in her stride, is patient, kind and a brilliant support and as it turns out a real lifesaver as recently a member of staff suffered an anaphylactic reaction while at work, Karen calmly jumped in to assist, called the ambulance & read through the anaphylactic response to take care of the situation, very impressive.

#tempofmonth #tempaward #teamwork #recruitment #customerservice #northernbeaches #peninsulapersonnel #tempwork #casualwork

Do you find it confusing when people talk about median and average incomes? It’s easy to do. When the Australian Taxation Office released new data on the typical income a few weeks ago, you may have looked at the data and struggled to relate to it. Perhaps it’s because the word “average” was thrown around a lot, and averages can be misleading.

If you want to compare your income to everyone else’s, the “median” income is a much better place to start. According to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), the average taxable income in the 2019-20 financial year was $63,882. But the median was much lower at $48,381.

Why averages can be so misleading
The big difference between the two reveals because averages can be so misleading. The “median” is better because it refers to the middle of the income distribution.

It marks the spot where half of all workers have a taxable income higher than that number, and half have a taxable income lower. Why is the average taxable income so much higher than the median? It’s because the income of some exceptionally well-paid people drags the average up.

For example, imagine there are 10 people in a room: nine of them earn $10,000 a year, and one of them earns $500,000 a year. What’s the average? Altogether, they earn $590,000 in a year so the average income in that room would be $59,000 ($590,000 divided by 10 people).

Notice how, because of the very high income of a single person, the average income for the group is much higher than the typical income of 90 per cent of people in the group?

That’s how averages can mislead.
And here’s another thing to remember: The median and average taxable incomes cover all full-time, part-time, and casual wages, and they’re the amount that’s left over after accountants have helped you remove any deductions you’re entitled to. That’s why they’re called your “taxable” income.

It’s also why the national median and average figures are much lower than the average full-time pre-tax wage. 

You can break it down further
So, knowing why the median is a better guide to the “typical” income is a good starting point. But you might look at that median national income of $48,381 and think it still doesn’t match your reality. So, let’s take another step. The ATO publishes more granular data on the topic, starting with a breakdown for men and women.

In 2019-20, the average taxable income for men was $74,559, and the median was $56,746. But the average taxable income for women was $52,798 while the median was $41,724.

What about different occupations?
The ATO publishes the taxable incomes of hundreds of occupations every year, and it breaks them down by their average and median incomes for men and women. If you would like to find out how your occupation compares copy the link and paste in your browser and have a looksie, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-28/whats-the-typical-income-in-australia-list-of-occupations/101330740

What about superannuation?
And finally, there may come a time when you start to think about your superannuation savings. How does your super compare to everybody else’s? This is an area when medians and averages make a big difference, as well as age and gender.

There are quite a few people who have enormous amounts of money stashed away in their super accounts, and it drags the national average up in a misleading way. Men also have much bigger super balances than women, overall, because they typically take less time off work to care for children or loved ones, and male-dominated occupations typically pay more, among a whole list of other reasons.

In 2019-20, the average super balance in Australia was $145,388, but the median super balance was only $49,374. For men, the average super balance was $161,834 and the median was $56,425. For women, the average was $129,506 and the median was $44,634.

But note this. When looking at your super balance, it’s worth comparing yourself to people in your age group, because super is so reliant on the life cycle. See the graph below. It shows the median super balance for men and women in different age groups.

If you’ve been finding your pay packet isn’t going as far as it once did-you’re not the only one. The cost of living is soaring, and wages are effectively going backwards.

So, should you ask your boss to boost your salary to keep up with inflation?
When it comes to negotiating inflation pay rises, for a long time there’s been a simple rule: don’t mention inflation. The reasoning has been simple yet ruthless in that, basically, most bosses don’t care how you’re doing financially, and whether you can make ends meet.

But with inflation now at its highest rate since 1990, and most Australians are worse off, some experts are tweaking their advice. Many workers are sharing stories of asking their boss for a pay rise.

Emma from Melbourne reports: “I told my boss that with the cost of everything going up, my salary wasn’t viable anymore”, I didn’t want to leave, but I was willing to go somewhere closer to home that offered a bit more”. And it worked, after a few days her employer agreed to a 7% pay rise.

Amy, 24, a designer in regional NSW, had a very different experience. She also brought up inflation with her boss-and got knocked back. “They said they couldn’t justify paying me more”, she said.

How To Have the Chat
Mentioning inflation in her negotiation worked well for Emma from Melbourne, but expert opinion here is divided. “Don’t mention inflation”, says one HR Specialist Karen Gately.

“Employers are thinking about their own books and the growing costs of their business”.

That is, if you go to your boss saying you need more money because of inflation, they may say the company’s costs have gone up too, and it can’t afford a pay rise. Emily Barnes, a professional mediator, agreed that “traditionally” an employee’s financial pressures haven’t been “the company’s problem”. But that’s not always the case. Workers in sectors with a labour shortage are in a stronger position to negotiate a pay rise, in which case referring to inflation can be helpful.

Be Prepared
Whether it’s researching the average pay range for a similar role or making a list of reasons why you’re good at your job, it pays to be prepared. Write out what you want to say. Even if you don’t use this in the conversation, the process will help.

Some questions to ask yourself:

• What do you want to achieve?
• What are you willing to accept?
• What are you willing to do if your pay rise request is refused?
• Are you willing to quit, even if you otherwise like your job?

“Unless you have a really clear idea around at least three of those things, then you don’t have a clear view regarding your approach in terms of the negotiations”.

How Much to Ask For
John Buchanan, a labour market expert from the university of Sydney’s Health and Work Research Network, recommends asking for a pay increase of between 4.6% and 5.2%. these are the amounts the Fair Work Commission (FWC) increased minimum and award wages this year. “If any worker can achieve that increase in the current situation that is a good result”.