Have you been working from home during COVID-19? While working from home has its benefits, there may be extra expenses incurred. These can range from printing costs to the need for more internet data and perhaps even additional equipment.
There are two different ways to claim deductions for additional running costs you incur. Costs you may be able to claim include:

– the work-related portion of any heating, cooling and lighting for the area you’re working from
– work-related phone and internet costs
– work-related decline in value of a personally owned computer and associated office equipment

To claim these expenses, you must keep specific records ranging from diary entries to receipts and keep a record of the hours you worked from home.

Since COVID-19, the ATO has introduced a new method to claim running expenses when working from home. This method allows a deduction of 80 cents per hour worked without the need to calculate actual costs incurred, from 1 March 2020 to 30 June 2020.

#peninsulapersonnel #workingfromhome  #workingremotely #covid19

This year’s Northern Beaches Art Prize (formerly Warringah Art Prize) is adapting to current times of social isolation during COVID-19 and is being hosted online. 

The 2020 art prize invites artists and designers to submit digital artwork in the format of a digital postcard that responds to the theme Postcards from the Home, drawing on experiences and emotions connected to home isolation during COVID-19. Works can be across any art practice that is photographed and submitted as a simple postcard. 

The award is open to all level of artists and designers, from hobbyists to professionals. And better still, to support our local creative community we are waiving the entry fees. 

The exhibition will include 60 chosen artworks, across Open and Youth categories, providing a snapshot of what ‘home’ means in the year 2020. 

Being online means that art lovers can also enjoy the exhibition from the comfort of their own homes. 

Submissions are open and the dates are as follows:

For more details, check out https://www.northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/arts-and-culture/northern-beaches-art-prize

We all know how stressful recruiting can be, it doesn’t matter if you are the recruiter, the hiring manager, the CEO or the applicant. But why when recruiting is so stressful do a staggering 30% of new employees leave within the first 90 days?

Well Jobvite have looked into this and they have found the top 3 reasons people leave their new jobs.

1. 43% of people surveyed said that the role wasn’t what they had expected it to be
2. 34% of people surveyed said they had a bad experience or incident that made them leave
3. 32% of people didn’t like the company culture

We have some tips to avoid this situation arising:

1. Have a structured induction process – when a new starter comes in to the business on their first day have someone to meet them, have their computer set up with all of their logins, have policies and procedures ready for them to read through and most importantly show them around the office. I know this sounds obvious but it is missed a lot of the time when a new person starts.
2. Communicate with your new starter – make sure that your new starter is introduced to their team/ office. It is important that all new starters know that there are people they can go and speak to about any issues whether that is the recruiter who initially recruited them, the HR Manager, their manager, the CEO or a colleague. People want to feel like they belong.
3. Assign a buddy – before your new starter starts assign them a buddy for them and let them know who it is. Their buddy can be their ‘friend’ until they settle in.
4. Create a culture where people can speak up – it is important that all staff whether new to your organisation or not feel valued and respected at work, if you are noticing that new starters are leaving regularly or your staff just don’t seem happy ask them what is wrong! I think the best way to do this is an anonymous Employee Engagement Survey. Once staff have completed the survey make the results public and let everyone know how you are going to tackle the issues.

So what should you do if you do get a new hire leaving? Ask them why! It is so important when someone leaves your organisation that you know why they are leaving. All you need to do is have a quick 5 to 10 minute exit interview with them to see what is driving them to leave and what you could do in the future to stop this happening.

Article adapted from Sarah Hutchinson (Senior Recruiter at Maxima Group).

Emma has been a long term temp of ours at Peninsula Personnel. She stopped working for us in February to move to South Africa with her boyfriend who secured a work contract there. They were planning to live in South Africa for the next 1 ½ years. Emma and her boyfriend went to South Africa in February 2020 to make certain arrangements and then came back to Australia to apply for her SA visa. They decided that on the way back to SA they would go skiing in Japan but things took a turn for them. 

Casey’s brother suddenly died in Florida, so they flew straight to the U.S. Whilst in Florida the law changed and Casey could not re-enter Australia as he was not a permanent resident. Marriage was always on the cards for the two, but made the decision and had 3 hours’ notice to get married and did so on the 19th of March in Naples Florida. The wedding service was at sunset with two guests (there were in fact 9 people at the wedding in total, 5 of whom they met an hour before including the celebrant) while all their families were on zoom or similar – in San Diego, London, Devon UK and Sydney. 

They had no celebratory meal just takeaway and cake from the supermarket with Casey’s sons (who were there to spread Casey’s brothers ashes the day before). After an 11 hour honeymoon, Emma left the next day for Australia and didn’t see Casey for 4 weeks. It took Casey 9 days to get a visa and come back to Australia and then he had to isolate in a hotel for 2 weeks.

This story from Emma really moved us and is definitely one of the most interesting stories we’ve heard during this pandemic. We are just happy she is safe and now happily married in Australia. It is so nice to see some light at the end of the tunnel as restrictions ease and life getting slowly back to its usual pace. 

As of yesterday, we are back in the office and the door is now open and will continue to stay open. We look forward to connecting with you all again whether it’s a phone call, an email or a visit to the office. 

If not now might be the time to implement one as most KPI’s, targets and budgets for 2020 will have to be thrown out the window as they will be totally unrealistic and unachievable. So rather than recognising sales achievements maybe we should put the emphasis on staff effort & performance overall while also resetting goals.

Did you know that lack of recognition by an employer ranks higher than compensation as one of the reasons why people leave an organisation? So not only are you more likely to retain your staff for longer,  if you implement a recognition program you will also improve employee engagement and performance, it’s a win no matter which way you look at it. 

A few things to consider when starting a recognition program:

• Determine your employee recognition criteria
• Provide tools for employee recognition activities
• Communicate, educate, and inspire
• Get Senior Leadership Buy-in and Commitment
• Choose the right partner

Easy, simple employee recognition ideas:

• Start a meeting with a shout out to someone who put in extra effort or did something great that week
• Give recognition on the spot – when you see great work happening, or gather a small group of peers and create a “recognition moment” where you present recognition to the individual
• Publicise recognition on shared screens or spaces. Describe what the person did and why they are being recognised
• Spotlight recognition on the front page of your intranet or the first section of your company newsletter
• Recognise when employees make healthy choices or contribute to their own or someone else’s positive wellbeing
• Recognise up—often we forget to recognise our own managers and leaders. They want to feel appreciated too
• Recognise unsung heroes—those who do great work, day after day, to support their peers but may not be in very visible roles

Join us and many others on Saturday 13 June. It’s lining up to be an incredible evening for this years’ Grace Gala, a virtual night in!

We invite you to put on your best frock (or favourite PJ’s) and enjoy a night of live entertainment and raise funds for the Grace Centre for Newborn Intensive Care at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead and the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Foundation.

Grace Gala – A Night In to Remember will be hosted by Studio 10s, Angela Bishop and will feature an exclusive silent auction, raffles and pledges. We are so excited that Johnny Ruffo will be performing on the night alongside the incredible Todd McKenney and Rhonda Burchmore. The show will run from 7pm-8pm followed by an afterparty with music from 8pm-9pm.

Tickets are now on sale for $200 per couple and includes 1 x twin pack of Tyrrell’s wine delivered to your door, along with a $30 Menulog voucher (so you can chose your own cuisine) plus one entry into the major raffle to win a 3 night stay in the Hunter Valley for 10 people thanks to Hunter Valley Holiday Homes!

For more information or to purchase tickets online, click here

Congratulations Emily Smith, our Temp of the Month for the month of May. Emily has been with her host employer for over 12 months as part of their Administration Team. They praise Emily for her hard work, her supervisor states, ”Emily has been the best find for us. We’re so lucky to have her”.

Emily loves her role and the blend of tasks she has on a daily basis. She loves being part of a team that is supportive and a workplace conveniently located in the area.

We would like to take this opportunity to also thank all of our temporary staff. It has been incredible to see so many of you adjust to your temporary assignments working from home.

We are looking forward to the easing of restrictions and heading back in the office as of Monday 1st June.

We are so pleased to see a number of restrictions easing, allowing Northern Beaches Council to reopen some of our beloved pools, playgrounds, outdoor gyms and skate parks. It is great to know that as a nation and as a community we have done the right thing and hugely reduced the rate of COVID-19 infection.

As of last Friday, Manly Andrew Boy Charlton and Warringah Aquatic Centre have now reopened, bookings can be made by phoning Manly Andrew Boy Charlton on 8495 5005 and Warringah Aquatic Centre on 9451 8000 with a limit of one person per lane and 45-minute sessions.

We can also now enjoy our beautiful ocean and harbour pools, with a limit of 10 people in the pool at one time. The water temperature has been quite pleasant so a great way to get some laps in during this glorious Autumn weather.

With up to 10 people allowed in outdoor social gatherings and cafes and restaurants, it is a great time to support local businesses. The Beaches Council has also removed the 1-hour parking restrictions which were temporarily in place at all beach car parks. 10-minute parking outside local businesses will remain in force to facilitate takeaway pickups.

Playgrounds and outdoor gyms will re-open with the 10 people limit and social distancing requirements of 1.5m remain in place. It is great that we can use these facilities and ensure to wipe down before and after use.

Michael Regan has recently confirmed that with more than 1200 tests done at the Manly pop up testing centre recently, there has not been a single positive test returned.

With facilities reopening, we can enjoy these new freedoms but keep vigilant for our own health and safety and those in our community.

The JobKeeper scheme has been amended to support the implementation and operation of the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme. These changes are temporary and will end on 28 September 2020.

As we already know the JobKeeper scheme helps employers significantly affected by coronavirus to keep paying their employees, by providing a subsidy administered by the Australian Tax Office. The changes also give eligible employers the ability to give certain directions to and make agreements with their eligible employees to help manage their business.

Recent amendments have been made with unpaid pandemic leave & annual leave.
The Fair Work Commission has added a temporary new schedule into 99 awards to provide greater flexibility during the coronavirus pandemic.

The temporary schedule gives employees:
– 2 weeks of unpaid pandemic leave
– the ability to take twice as much annual leave at half their normal pay if their employer agrees

The schedule applies from an employee’s first full pay period on or after 8 April 2020 until 30 June 2020.

The Fair Work Commission has also made other temporary changes to some awards to provide more flexibility during the coronavirus outbreak.

For more details of the recent updates, view the website.

The Fair Work Commission is also in the process of carrying out its annual review of minimum wages. A decision is expected sometime in June.

With the restrictions easing, Safe Work Australia provides a hub of work health and safety guidance and tools that Australian workplaces can use to manage health and safety risks related to COVID-19.

We look forward to getting back in the office from June.