IR - Feb - 2018

ISSUE 1 | FEBRUARY 2018

YOUR INDUSTRY NEWS PROVIDED BY MGA INDEPENDENT RETAILERS

2018 – “PARTNERING FOR SUCCESS” National Support Office

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1800 888 479

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www.mga.asn.au

2018

Celebrating our 75th year!

MGA Independent Retailers and the Grocery and Liquor Association (GALA) is again hosting the Annual Industry Golf Day at the picturesque Keysborough Golf Club on 15 March 2018.

This major industry fundraising event for the Reach Foundation is open to anyone involved in the grocery, liquor and allied industries. The event is a fun 'Ambrose' competition, followed by presentations and meal at the club.

Please visit: www.golfdays.com.au/gala2018 or call Steve Sellars: 0407 399 240

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OUR MISSION To deliver the best possible industry specific business support services to independent grocery, liquor, timber, hardware and associate store members.

CONTENTS

MGA NATIONAL

5 CEO welcome

SUPPORT OFFICE Suite 5, 1 Milton Parade, Malvern, Victoria, 3144 P: 03 9824 4111 • F: 03 9824 4022 admin@mga.asn.au www.mga.asn.au Freecall: 1800 888 479

RETAILER DIRECTORS Rodney Allen (President) – Victoria Graeme Gough – New South Wales Michael Daly – Victoria Gino Divitini – Western Australia Grant Hinchcliffe – Tasmania Carmel Goldsmith – New South Wales Chris dos Santos – South Australia Debbie Smith – Queensland

MGA CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Jos de Bruin 03 9824 4111 E: jos.debruin@mga.asn.au

CORPORATE PARTNERSHIP AND MEDIA SALES Steve Sellars 0407 399 240 E: steve.sellars@mga.asn.au

EDITORIAL AND PRODUCTION

E: courtenay.hirst@mga.asn.au

FOLLOW US ONLINE:

www.facebook.com/ MGAIndependentRetailers www.linkedin.com/company/ mga-independent-retailers www.twitter.com/ MasterGrocers

INDUSTRY NEWS 7 Western Australian retailers: Six months to prepare for the plastic bag ban 8 MGA meets NSW Department of Health – tobacco 9 Industry insights – Kaufland quits online retail 9 SAVE THE DATE: Council of Small Business of Australia Summit 2018 10 Nick Xenophon’s SA Best party to oppose deregulated shopping hours 11 Deregulating shop trading hours will put SA small businesses at risk!

10 Cyber security: How safe is your family business?

12 Cyber security: How safe is your family business?

15 Sunday penalty rate reductions in retail and hospitality will create jobs 16 Tyro leads on contactless debit reforms 19 Ombudsman calls for lower ‘tap-and-go’ transaction fees 21 ACCC dairy industry inquiry 23 The phase out of plastic bags – almost complete 23 Container deposit laws 25 IGA Burwood moves to Camberwell

LEGAL AND HR 27 Jury Duty – part of the national employment standards 28 Don’t tolerate workplace bullying 29 Making an employee management contract 31 Support persons and disciplinary meetings

LIQUOR NEWS 33 Woolworths and Coles refused liquor planning permits 33 Wine Industry icon recognised 35 MGA Liquor 2017 industry update and Christmas function 35 MGAL 2017 industry update and Christmas function

TRAINING 37 Food safety risks in supermarkets

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CEO REPORT

CEO WELCOME Welcome to 2018! 2017 was MGA’s ”Year of Engagement” with members and stakeholders - and the year’s activities delivered some outstanding results. More members than ever before engaged and availed themselves of MGA’s support services and electronic communications.

MGA’s profile as your member organisation continues to grow with state and federal governments, departments and agencies. We wish to thank all members for your support.

This year MGA endeavours to work even closer with its members around Australia to help them be the best they can be in their businesses. 2018 is the year MGA will “partner members for success.”

Members and industry stakeholders, this year we enter a brand new year and we have the opportunity to “change the game” so to speak, and change the way we have been engaging with our customers and the way we have been doing business.

It’s a good time of the year to reflect on all that could be improved upon over the 2017 year.

Let’s face it, in many respects, 2018 will be no different to 2017 – the same competition intensifying again, on-line disruption all around us, increasing costs to do business, particularly electricity, consumers increasingly tightening their discretionary spending and so it goes.

What can change, is the way in which MGA members choose to conduct their business in order to tantalise and

continually win over their customers in 2018. We saw many exciting and innovative store refurbishments in 2017. From small to major, it didn’t matter, because customers noticed the improvements and felt comfortable with them. Sales have increased in stores which have invested back into their businesses.

MGA has many challenges to confront this year addressing a range of pressing matters and issues of concern for members at a state and federal level.

Members of Parliament at all levels will be engaged by MGA and they will be reminded that family enterprises and private businesses cannot absorb additional red tape and cost burdens and cannot provide or grow employment as rising costs such as electricity threaten to risk the viability of their businesses.

In 2018, MGA will focus heavily on assisting members with compliance solutions for a raft of state and federal government regulations. Please make sure you call the MGA team if you require any assistance at all with compliance issues. Compliance within the workplace arena will continue to be a major focus in terms of paying staff correctly, timely superannuation payments and so on.

MGA will be conducting a series of educational opportunities that will provide tools to assist members with their day to day workplace obligations.

Finally, on behalf of MGA’s board, members and staff I wish to sincerely thank two prominent MGA board members who stood down from MGA’s board in 2017. Andrew Bray from NSW served the

MGA board and represented NSW & ACT retailers impeccably for almost 10 years.

Thank you, Andrew! Prominent Victorian retailer, Steve Miller, after 18 incredible years of sharing his industry knowledge, skill and capability with the MGA board, to help guide and direct MGA to the national independent retailer organisation it is today, has also stepped down to enjoy retirement. A big thank you to Steve and best wishes for the future.

Steve Miller

Andrew Bray

We warmly welcome two new directors to MGA’s Board. Graeme Gough who hails from Ballina NSW and Carmel Goldsmith from Jamberoo NSW. Both Graeme and Carmel are exceptional independent supermarket owners and operators and will bring vital insights to MGA’s Board.

Carmel Goldsmith

Graeme Gough

Until next edition of this magazine – we wish all our members and industry stakeholders a very successful year of trading!

Jos de Bruin CEO, MGA Independent Retailers

MGA “partnering members and industry stakeholders for success” MGA’s objective to is to be a highly respected Partnering for success will be achieved by national industry organisation led by an working together and adhering to MGA’s values; inspired and aligned high performing team.

• Consult when decisions affect others • Integrity in everything we do A team that is dedicated to caring for and • Respect for one another supporting its members and delivering on • Communicate openly & honestly MGA’s HIGHER PURPOSE which is to • Leadership take ownership “make life easier.”

• Embrace change as a healthy part of growth www.mga.asn.au

TM

Monde Nissin

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INDUSTRY NEWS WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Western Australian retailers: Six months to prepare for the plastic bag ban •

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Western Australia is joining Queensland retailers in ‘banning the bag’ on 1 July 2018 Public submissions now open for upcoming plastic bag ban Feedback welcome via online survey or written submission

“Major supermarkets – Coles, Woolworths and IGA – intend to ban lightweight, single-use plastic bags while some retailers – including Bunnings and Aldi – already support the ban by not offering these bags to customers.

Western Australians are being urged to start changing their plastic bag use with less than six months to go until the ban on lightweight, single-use plastic bags is due to come into effect.

“The discussion paper gives the community an opportunity to be part of efforts to reduce the impact of plastic bags on our environment.

Public submissions have also opened on the plastic bag ban and can be made via an online survey or by written submission.

“This Government is committed to reducing the amount of waste generated, increasing the amount of material recovered and reducing the disposal of waste to landfill, as well as decreasing littering. This initiative will help us achieve these goals.”

A discussion paper, ‘Implementing a lightweight singleuse plastic bag ban in Western Australia’, is open for public comment until 9 March 2018.

Source: WA Minister for Environment, Stephen Dawson The discussion paper, prepared by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation and the Boomerang Alliance, seeks feedback on the plastic bag ban and implementation options designed to assist retailers and consumers.

The ban will bring Western Australia into line with South Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory which already have plastic bag bans in place.

Queensland has also committed to a ban from 1 July 2018.

A November 2017 survey of WA households found that 84 per cent of respondents support a ban on lightweight, single-use plastic bags.

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It is estimated that Western Australians used about 360 million single-use plastic bags in 2017.

These bags have an average useful life of 12 minutes and in Western Australia, about five million are littered annually, which leads to a devastating impact on marine wildlife and birds.

For more information and to contribute to the discussion paper, visit www.dwer.wa.gov.au/plastic_bag_ban Comments attributed to Environment Minister Stephen Dawson. “The Government’s plastic bag ban is widely supported by the community and industry.

“This includes major retailers which are some of the biggest suppliers of plastic shopping bags.

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www.mga.asn.au

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INDUSTRY NEWS NEW SOUTH WALES

MGA meets NSW Department of Health – tobacco On the 18th December, MGA together with other industry association leaders (ARA & ALNA) met with the NSW Health Department, Director of Health, Dr Kerry Chant and her team to discuss elements of the NSW Department of Health Tobacco strategy 2012 – 2017.

February 2018 - Edition 1

MGA’s purpose in attending this meeting was to alleviate any risk of further costs or regulatory burdens being imposed upon NSW members. Matters discussed included retail tobacco licensing, single cash register rules and key achievements to reduce the usage of tobacco products.

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Members are encouraged to continue their instore vigilance to comply with NSW tobacco regulations. Research conducted on behalf of NSW Health from July 2016 to June 2017 has revealed the following and suggests that there is considerable room for improvement to comply with regulations; • 94% of 900 tobacco retailers inspected complied with tobacco sales to minors laws • 92% of 90 retailers inspected complied with e-cigarette sales to minors law

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87% of 2,200 tobacco retailers inspected complied with point of sale tobacco retail requirements Complaints about illegal tobacco were investigated, resulting in 31 seizures of illegal tobacco. Inspectors seized and destroyed 338,000 cigarettes and 193 kilograms of other tobacco From November 2015 to June 2017 – NSW Health inspectors visited 274 retailers and seized over 10,000 bottles of liquid nicotine.

Members, please be advised that MGA has developed a FREE online retail tobacco training course for each state and territory designed for all staff serving and selling tobacco products to the public.

Simply go to MGA’s website and access the training hub – www.mga.asn.au or please call MGA on 1800 888 479.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Industry insights – Kaufland quits online retail Kaufland has pulled the pin on online retail only one year since launching its digital business due to concerns around operational cost, leaving a greater e-commerce pie for Coles and Woolworths in Australia.

Future profitability was the other reason Kaufland said it will be closing its e-commerce operations. The news comes after it became known that the German hypermarket chain’s Hamburg online store launch was not going to happen.

Its online retail service only operates in Berlin, but it has now decided to cease e-commerce entirely.

This comes after plans for its first Netherlands store were denied by the Deventer Council due to concerns of the impact to other local businesses.

“We’re mainly talking about a very huge supermarket, which is expected to deprive all other supermarkets in Deventer of a great deal of turnover,” a municipality spokesman told the local De Stentor newspaper.

Last week, Germany’s other discount supermarket, Lidl announced that it would not pursue online retail for the time being. Retail analysts at IDG Retail Analysis say this is a reflection on the struggle discount retailers are having with the online retail space in terms of profitability. “The move reflects the difficulty that discount retailers are having in making online grocery financially viable in Germany, with Lidl announcing last month they would also be withdrawing from the online grocery market for the time being,” IDG said in a statement.

Last month Kaufland announced it would open its second hypermarket in Dandenong, Victoria, following its purchase of an ex-Bunnings site for $16.4 million which will become its new storefront.

This isn’t its first site, with Kaufland forking out a further $25 million for a super site in Adelaide’s CBD fringe in September. In the last year, it has spent

considerable resources to analyse the Australian market for feasibility and scout locations for its “super” markets, which are on average four to five times larger than its competition Coles and Woolworths.

Kaufland is similar to Costco, only without the membership. Its Australian stores will reportedly span 20,000 square metres, selling everything from fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, groceries, chocolate, nappies and luggage, to computers and ladders.

Australia is the first English speaking country that the Schwartz Groupowned retailer has opened in, despite it operating over 1,230 stores in eastern and central European countries.

Source – Prinitha Govender

NEW SOUTH WALES SAVE THE DATE: Council of Small Business of Australia Summit 2018

Australia’s premier event shaping the future policy for small business COSBOA’s 16th Vodafone National Small Business Summit will be held at Swissotel Sydney in August 2018. The 2018 Summit will focus on Power and the People, highlighting the value of 3 million plus small business people and their $3.4 billion annual contribution to the Australian economy.

COSBOA invites you to join in debate and discussion on policy that will influence small businesses over the coming year.

Connect with people who are important to our sector such as: small business leaders, senior politicians, the regulators, the Australian Tax Office, the Fair Work Ombudsman and the Fair Work Commission.

Key topics will cover: • Workplace relations • Women in business • Superannuation and paid parental leave

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Contract law and competition policy Compliance and regulation demands

Lock in the dates early, email nsbs@ cosboa.org.au to register your interest.

MGA is a COSBOA board member.

MGA encourages all members to consider attending this event. We have the opportunity to lift the profile of our industry with your attendance.

www.mga.asn.au

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INDUSTRY NEWS SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Nick Xenophon’s SA Best party to oppose deregulated shopping hours The SA Best party led by former senator Nick Xenophon will block any move to deregulate shop trading hours in South Australia.

In a significant blow to the state opposition’s hopes to deregulate hours if it wins the March election, the potential kingmaker - who has fielded up to six Lower House candidates – said he did not “get” why the Liberals would support shops opening for longer.

Mr Xenophon said it would devastate small and mediumsized businesses, including independent stores like IGA, that take advantage of big supermarkets having to close early on weekends and open late on Sunday.

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“I’ll be committing to SA Best ensuring that we will block any move by the Liberals to have deregulated shop trading hours,” he said.

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“Deregulate shop trading hours and you’ll actually end up destroying hundreds if not thousands of jobs around the state.”

We understand your business as we are specialists in your industry Phil Ibbotson and the team at I+M welcome David Cunningham to the business!

We have looked after all sizes of retail stores all around Australia for in excess of 30 years and David has joined our team, adding to our existing skills and expertise. This puts us in a unique position to help you with all your business needs.

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Opposition MLC Rob Lucas did not consider Mr Xenophon’s position a threat to the party’s plans to deregulate hours.

“Nick Xenophon firstly has to be elected at the next election,” he said.

“He’s got a real dog fight in Hartley to be elected.”

Despite his leadership, Mr Xenophon himself does not hold a seat in politics after he resigned from the federal Senate in order to contest a seat in SA’s House of Assembly.

• How do your results compare to other stores of similar size?

• Do you know if your wages expense is right for your business size?

Mr Xenophon said he planned to field 20 candidates in the state election and would unveil half a dozen more before Christmas.

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February 2018 - Edition 1

SA Best leader Nick Xenophon with IGA owner Theo Vlassis and SA Independent Retailers' Colin Shearing. (Source: ABC News)

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INDUSTRY NEWS SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Deregulating shop trading hours will put SA small businesses at risk!

Martin Haese; Lord Mayor of Adelaide The arrival of Amazon has put the debate about shop trading hours in the limelight. Yes, it is likely that Amazon will add to what is already a hypercompetitive retail marketplace.

However, is the deregulation of shop trading hours the answer? In my opinion, it is not. Having owned a chain of retail stores, taught retail studies to university students and managed Rundle Mall, I have some experience in the retail sector.

Ask anyone the question “would you like to shop whenever you want?” and most of us are likely to say “yes”. However, under current legislation, most retailers can already trade up until 9 o’clock on week nights. Why don’t they? Because there is not enough demand.

In a time of low wages growth and increasing household expenses, deregulation is not going to create any more money for us to spend in our retail stores. Some would suggest that the deregulation of shop trading hours is a panacea for improving consumer confidence that will create jobs and prosperity for all. I don’t buy it. In fact, I believe it will result in the big boys squeezing out smaller, family businesses.

Here’s why.

There are 140,000 small businesses in South Australia employing 34 per cent of the state’s workforce. In the City of Adelaide alone, 1,600 small businesses

employ 16,000 people, mainly in retail and hospitality. They are on our city streets, laneways and suburban main roads. Some are also in shopping centres.

Should shop trading hours be further liberalised, the very livelihood of these small businesses could be put at risk.

That’s because the deregulation of shop trading hours will benefit larger shopping centres and take customers away from small traders on our city and suburban streets. History tells us that when you reduce the number of independent retailers, jobs are displaced, product choice evaporates, prices go up and profits are shifted interstate or offshore.

This is because deregulation often favours the big end of town and, in this case, the shopping centres and large corporate retailers within them. There is also no evidence to suggest that deregulation will create more jobs. In fact, the opposite could be true.

When you look at the numbers, small businesses employ more people per shop front than the big boys.

You only need to go into a major department store or experience self-serve checkouts in major supermarkets to know that these businesses work on a different employment ratio.

Generally speaking, employee costs account for 12 per cent of operating costs for independent retailers, compared with 6 to 8 per cent for their big competitors.

While large shopping centres have an important role to play, they are centrally managed, powerful and have influence.

“Deregulating shop trading hours will put small businesses at risk” – Martin Haese

Romeos Foodland, Mitcham SA are giving it a go. They are creative, innovative and community-minded.

In today’s highly digitised world, they make us feel human. To illustrate the point, just think about your local cafe, wine bar or pub.

Nothing corporate about them; just real people making you feel like an individual instead of a number. Deregulate shopping hours and you could lose them. Lose small businesses and you lose jobs.

This is why council stands alongside the many individuals, families, entrepreneurs and risk takers who are operating a small business in the City of Adelaide.

Our subsidiary organisations, the Rundle Mall Management Authority and the Adelaide Central Market Authority, are doing the same.

I want to see our state prosper as much as you do. However, small business operators are already working long hours.

There is no evidence to suggest extending those hours will do anything other than increase their costs and erode their family time.

In comparison, city and suburban Adelaide laneways and main streets are rarely, if ever, centrally managed. Instead, they consist of small businesses that lack influence and a voice.

It could also send their valued customers directly to their larger competitors.

Deregulate and small business could be the biggest loser.

These are family-owned businesses that

Source – The Advertiser

www.mga.asn.au

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INDUSTRY NEWS

NATIONAL

Cyber security: How safe is your family business?

MGA members should all be aware of the risks of cyber attacks on their businesses. But what are they doing about it?

Kate Carnell, the Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, together with her team has been working feverishly with a number of industry organisations, including MGA, to develop a strategy for small business owners to protect their businesses. It’s simple, there are 3 steps to “serenity” – prevention, well-being and response (see the diagram to the right).

It should have been a wake-up call for Australian family businesses back in 2014 and 2015 when the Federal Police thwarted a co-ordinated cyber security attack aimed at stealing some $600 million in funds from private business bank accounts. There were quite a few MGA members (including MGA itself), who were also impacted by this fraudulent behaviour. How do we stop this from happening? It’s a very real and damaging risk to the businesses that MGA members own and operate.

In recent years, on the other side of the world, Russian hackers deployed malicious software into the computer systems of hundreds of businesses in a bid to capture sensitive data, including bank accounts and passwords, security codes, credit card numbers and sensitive customer information.

Financial, identity and data thefts, and extortion attempts where criminals demand high ransom payments for the return of sensitive stolen data or to unlock hijacked computer systems, are becoming increasingly commonplace. Organised crime gangs are often behind the attacks.

“Today the scale of these attacks is unprecedented. It is all about pace, scale and reach,” former Telstra’s chief information and security officer, Mike Burgess, told a Sydney cyber security symposium in 2015.

February 2018 - Edition 1

“99.99 per cent of breaches have known remedies – they could have been prevented. There is no such thing as a sophisticated attack, the likes of which have not been seen before. It is a reasonably foreseeable event that someone will hack.”

do allocate security spending to their most profitable lines of business, many still do not allocate appropriately. The estimated annual cost of cybercrime globally is well into the billions, and the lack of investment in managing cyber threats and involvement at the board level is a concern.

Yet it seems a high percentage of Australian family businesses still think they’re bullet proof when it comes to cyber attacks compared with private businesses in other locations. That’s one of the key findings of a recent global report by business advisory firm EY and Kennesaw State University’s Cox Family Enterprise Centre.

The Federal Government’s national cyber security strategy sets out how governments can partner with the private sector to improve information security.

Entitled: Staying power: how do family businesses create lasting success?, – the report surveyed 25 of the largest familyowned businesses in each of 21 global markets, including Australia.

And what emerged was that Australian family businesses are well behind their global counterparts when it comes to their awareness of cyber risk. In fact, at the time, 41 per cent of Australian family businesses reported having no knowledge of the impact of cyber risk on their company – much higher than the global average of 25 per cent.

“Australia is a very attractive target and it’s very important we review our settings and ensure our policy is relevant and up to the mark,” the Australian Government’s National Security official Dr Margot McCarthy told a Senate estimates committee in 2015.

Australian respondents to the EY survey who were aware of cyber security risks were evenly divided about the scale of its potential impact on their business, with 32 per cent rating it as low and 27 per cent rating it as medium to high.

EY’s Oceania Family Business Leader, Ian Burgess says that in an increasingly connected, digital world, family businesses needed to place greater emphasis on their cyber security.

Data released from the United Kingdom in 2015 showed that 90 per cent of large businesses in the UK have reported they have suffered an information security breach, alongside 74 per cent of small and medium-sized businesses.

“Even with the near-constant news of cyber breaches, leaks and the resulting financial losses, Australian family businesses seem to be worryingly relaxed about the risk of cyber threats and potential impact on their business,” says Burgess.

A 2015 report from the UK’s Department of Business, Innovation and Skills said the average cost of security breaches for companies with more than 500 employees is between $2.9m and $6.2 million. For small and medium-sized businesses, the average cost of the worst breach is between $150,000 and $615,000.

“By their nature, family businesses face some increased risks beyond the usual hacking and data breaches, such as social media risks, reputational risks and personal safety concerns. For this reason, cyber security should be at the top of the agenda for any family business.

Comparative numbers aren’t available here but worryingly, while Australian businesses

“Around the world, there are tens of thousands of cyber security breaches each year – it’s the new reality of doing

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INDUSTRY NEWS

1

Cyber proble • Small busi

It starts at the top

Get cyber secure Three quick steps to serenity

It starts and finishes with people in management.

Adopt these protections within your business…

Prevention – Protect your assets

• Back-up regularly to protect against loss.

• Patch applications by installing security updates.

• Use complex passwords and use two-step authentication.

• Limit access to administrator accounts and sensitive

You should put at least one person in your business in charge of cyber security. It should be someone trusted in management with access to assets.

You need to have complicit support from everyone in the business from top to bottom to ensure your actions are employed.

Well-being – Do things safely

Discuss cyber security regularly. Make it a day-to-day priority, just like locking your doors each night.

• Communicate safe practice and talk about cyber security

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frequently.

It’s a hands-on effort

Response – Report and recover from an attack

• If you think an attack has happened, tell staff and tell the authorities.

• Restore backups from before the incident.

• Consider cyber insurance.

2

Get everyone on board

information.

• Browse safe sites and ensure your staff do too.

• Only allow applications you trust on your computers.

This is how

There is no single-fix for cyber security.

You can’t solely rely on antivirus software to keep you safe from attacks.

Educate yourself, staff and customers in the many ways to stay safe online. Encourage staff and customers to report incidents and anything that seems out of place.

cybercrim

• 60% of

significant following 6

• 22% of

2017 Rans not contin

• 33% of

don’t take breaches.4

• 87% of

safe from software a

• Cybercrim

$1bn a

4

Know your risks and vulnerabilities

Speak to a trusted advisor Whether it’s your accountant, your IT specialist, or us, know where to go for more guidance on your risks, vulnerabilities, and how to enhance your security online. Government agencies can provide more information: Familiarise yourself with the Stay Smart Online guide (www.staysmartonline.gov.au/protect-your-business) for simple tips for protecting your business.

The recommended place to go for a comprehensive list of practical actions to make your computers, networks and systems more secure is the Australian Signals Directorate’s (ASD) Essential Eight (asd.gov.au/infosec/mitigationstrategies.htm), which aim to prevent malware from running, and to limit the extent of incident and recover data.

For useful statistics on how cyber security affects small business, the Australian Cyber Security Centre (www.acsc.gov.au/publications.html) produces and regularly reviews statistics from cyber security incidents.

Contact the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) Australia (www.cert.gov.au/advice) to report suspicious activity or if you think you’ve been attacked.

When it comes to cyber-attacks, it’s not a matter of if, but when. If you use the internet, you are at risk.

Cyberat

Know what y

Email phishing

Understand the ways your business can be attacked. Perform regular checks and audits of your online ‘footprint’, so you can prioritise your risks.

5

Protect your business

Ransom

The right approach for you depends on your business, the people in it, and the nature of the assets you need to protect.

Secure your Point of Sale systems, mobile devices, networks and stored data with recommended actions. Familiarise yourself with more advanced techniques to become cyber secure.

The Small Business Cyber Security Best Practice Guide – Source: Office of ASBFEO

Watering hole atta

The Small Business Cyber Security Best Practice Guide

business. The biggest hurdle to family businesses in this space is recognising the most critical threats and understanding how to address them.”

“The good news is that, due to their concentrated ownership, once family businesses are aware of the risks they have the advantage of being able to make and implement decisions quickly.

This allows them to put effective plans in place to help minimise cyber security risks,” Burgess says.

For more detailed information on how to protect your business, check out our Most family businesses appear to viruses and malware while using Cyber Security Best Practice Research Report at www.asbfeo.gov.au/cybersecurity be unaware of online dangers, the internet. and a high percentage still send confidential information via email Every connection is a threat and instead of using more secure risk opportunity. Every connection can communications tools. be compromised.

By the time most businesses find out they’ve been attacked, and that their data has been stolen, it’s usually too late. Today’s biggest threats occur unknowingly as employees at businesses can easily pick up computer

MGA urges all members to immediately adopt a strict watch over CYBER security in your businesses – This is a serious policy matter that is not just a one-off event but an ongoing process.

Source: Tony Kaye – Business Spectator

www.mga.asn.au

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INDUSTRY NEWS

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February 2018 - Edition 1

INDUSTRY NEWS

15

Sunday penalty rate reductions in retail and hospitality will create jobs Late in 2017, self-interested Labor government MPs and union leaders demonstrated their belligerence toward the Fair Work Commission’s (the “Independent Umpire”) decision to reduce Sunday penalty rates from 100% to 50%, in the North Queensland press and literally bullied Queensland MP and member for the marginal seat of Dawson, George Christensen for showing his strength in considering “a FWC decision made in the best interest” for Australia and Australians.

MGA invited the North Queensland press to consider another point of view as per the opinion article following; “We have listened to the histrionic outcries of trade unionists and politicians claiming that suddenly 8,000 workers are going to be destitute in Dawson, if the Sunday penalty rates decision isn’t reversed.

They claim it’s all due to the dishonesty and cowardice of the Member for Dawson, Mr George Christensen. Well, what a shame, Mr Christensen didn’t cross the floor and vote the way they wanted.

At that point in time a value judgement was made, and wouldn’t they do the same if it suited them?

The vicious responses that resulted from Christensen’s decision not to support Labor Senator Doug Cameron’s Fairwork Amendment Bill in December 2017, did not warrant the brutal personal attack released in the press. Let’s face it, Senator Cameron and many other “dedicated” politicians, have no doubt been faced at some time with a need to review their decisions and there is no disgrace in changing your mind if it’s for the common good – the common good of all the people in the seat of Dawson who Mr Christensen cares about!

You don’t need to have a high IQ to know that to give out jobs you have to have employers. If the Sunday penalty rates continue to be high, then jobs will continue to be lost. So, Mr. Unionist you are not protecting jobs by your vitriolic attacks on anyone who doesn’t agree with you, because there won’t be any.

If thousands of small businesses disappear then jobs for students and working mums will not be there and others who rely on working in the small stores will be on the dole.

George Christensen MP Work Commission was established. Does their current stance mean that every time the Fair Work Commission makes a decision they don’t like – and remember it was a decision endorsed by the Federal Court – then some politicians will simply step in to tear the decision down, just because it doesn’t suit them and their opinions?

Is that democracy? Does that comply with every Australian’s right to rely on a judicial decision? It certainly doesn’t seem acceptable in a country that prides itself on equality before the law. In the challenge to the Sunday penalty rates case it obviously doesn’t matter that thousands of employers, having asked five prominent qualified members of the Fair Work Commission to consider reams of evidence, delivered by respected QCs might not able to rely on the result.

Using the government legislature to change a court decision is a misuse of the trust we place in our judicial system.

It is our hope that the respect for the law will be upheld in the future and that all politicians will recognise the importance of abiding by any valid judicial decision and not try to tear it down to justify their own existence.

It’s quite obvious that the union leaders and left wing thinking Labor politicians just don’t want to accept the decision of the Fair Work Commission – the independent umpire.

We thank George Christensen for supporting a decision made by the FWC for the common good of all Australians.

Incidentally the Labor Party was in power when they, the Fair

MGA Opinion Article – Nth QLD Press – 28th December 2017

www.mga.asn.au

16

INDUSTRY NEWS

NATIONAL

Tyro leads on contactless debit reforms Specialist business bank Tyro recently turned up the heat on the four major banks to accelerate their planned rollouts of eftpos routing on contactless debit card payments.

Tyro is promising to deliver eftpos routing capability to its 20,000 merchant customers across Australia by the end of March next year.

ANZ is the only major bank to indicate that some of its merchants will be hooked up to eftpos for contactless payments early in 2018, while the three other big banks are yet to commit to schedules.

The major banks stand to lose hundreds of millions in fee revenue when their merchant terminals are upgraded to facilitate eftpos’ entry into contactless payments.

Data published by the Reserve Bank shows that on average Australian merchants are likely to save more than 50 per cent on what they pay in merchant service fees by routing contactless payments via eftpos rather than existing default platforms operated by Visa and Mastercard.

Jos de Bruin, the chief executive of Master Grocers Australia, said his organisation was advising members to actively engage with banks on the issue.

“Contactless payments are a convenient way of paying for consumers but their phenomenal growth has also meant they are one of the fastest growing costs borne by retailers,” he said.

“We are urging our members whose bank doesn’t offer eftpos for contactless payments to ask their bank to offer it.

“We’ve told the banks that we think that supporting contactless eftpos represents a win for small businesses.”

Several features of the Tyro announcement could influence the Reserve Bank’s jawboning of the major banks into complying with its call to opening the point of sale terminals to least-cost routing.

The Australian Retailers Association’s executive director, Russell Zimmerman, also made comments during the official launch of Tyro’s adoption of contactless eftpos.

It is now almost certain that Tyro will be first-to-market with the new eftpos capability, a move that acting chief executive Rob Ferguson says will generate substantial savings on acquiring fees for businesses using the company’s terminals.

If payments executives at the major banks still harboured views that retailers were complacent about the fees levied on contactless transactions routed through Mastercard and Visa, then Zimmerman probably dispelled them.

“Our plan to decrease acquiring costs for debit contactless payments through the eftpos network will be seamless for merchants, easy to enable and there will be no extra fees,” he said. “This initiative is a win for our customers?”

“eftpos is a low-cost payment routing option for merchants and we are pleased to hear Tyro is working to implement least-cost routing,” he said in a press release issued by Tyro.

Awareness of the benefits of widening competition in the contactless market is growing among leaders of retail groups representing small merchants.

February 2018 - Edition 1

“The ability to route transactions via the eftpos network instead of the current Visa and Mastercard schemes will save merchants significant costs instead of hitting their bottom lines.

Another feature of the Tyro move likely to garner the attention of RBA payments reformers is the company’s assertion that technical challenges associated with the introduction of eftpos capability might not be as onerous as some of the large banks have indicated.

To appease concerns among retail industry leaders about the time it might take to upgrade their terminals, banks such as Commonwealth Bank probably need to explain why their rollouts of new eftpos capability are likely to be “complex”.

In response to questions from Banking Day on Monday, NAB said that it was committed to providing business customers with choice, so they could best manage the cost of accepting payments.

However, a NAB spokesman rejected suggestions that its strategic partnership with Visa had influenced its response to the RBA’s call for it to allow merchant customers to decide which payments network contactless transactions are routed through.

The spokesman also said that the prospect of losing fee revenue under the RBA reforms was not a factor guiding its strategic thinking.

NAB entered a ten-year strategic agreement with Visa in November 2015.

In a press statement issued at the time, NAB said the partnership with Visa would boost the bank’s access to key data and lead to more informed business decisions and better products for customers.

Source – George Lekakis – Banking News

INDUSTRY NEWS

17

www.mga.asn.au

18

INDUSTRY NEWS

AVAILABLE AT

$

February 2018 - Edition 1

INDUSTRY NEWS

19

NATIONAL

Ombudsman calls for lower ‘tap-and-go’ transaction fees The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman has supported a parliamentary committee recommendation for banks to reduce “tap and go” transaction fees.

debit transaction is 0.26 per cent with eftpos and 0.58 per cent with Visa or Mastercard and it’s higher for small businesses,” Ms Carnell said.

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics recommended that banks let merchants send tap-and-go payments from debit cards through eftpos instead of credit.

The committee said if banks have not done this by 1 April 2018 that regulatory action should be taken.

“Shoppers aren’t given a choice with pay wave, as banks don’t allow merchants to choose the route through which contactless payments are processed. It’s estimated that processing tap-and-go transactions through credit cards instead of eftpos costs businesses $290 million a year.”

Ombudsman Kate Carnell welcomed the recommendation.

Ms Carnell said she was encouraged that ANZ told the committee they would give merchants a choice and said she looked forward to seeing timelines for implementation.

“The average total merchant fee for a

“Consumers and small businesses are being

Kate Carnell exploited for utilising the convenience of tap-and-go,” Ms Carnell said.

“Small businesses are unwilling tax collectors for banks and international credit card companies. They don’t have the negotiating power of big business to get special deals.

“As we move towards a cashless economy it’s vital that transaction fees are kept as low as possible.”

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INDUSTRY NEWS

21

NATIONAL

ACCC dairy industry inquiry An Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) inquiry into the country’s dairy industry recommends a mandatory code of conduct be introduced to address power imbalances in the supply chain.

bargaining power imbalances between processors and farmers, the commission said in its interim report based on a 12-month inquiry.

As well as addressing power imbalances, a mandatory code would improve price and production signals, stop practices where risk is transferred inappropriately and increase competition for farmers’ milk.

Commissioner Mick Keogh said Australia’s dairy industry introduced a voluntary code of conduct following the milk price drop in April 2016 and he said this had worked – to an extent.

“What’s clear is that processors, often under pressure from supermarkets or export market “From what we can see, some of the competition, use their relative bargaining changes that have occurred have resulted power to shift risks onto dairy farmers. The in improvements,” Mr Keogh said. power imbalance is evident in the nature of contracts between the processors and “Some of the bad practices are not there farmers. These involve uncertain pricing anymore, but there are no consequences if information and contract terms which deter processors don’t adhere to the code. And switching,” Mr Keogh said. not all processors are in the code.

“A code would strengthen dairy farmers’ “The inquiry has recommended change is weak bargaining position and therefore needed, but it is limited in the voluntary improve competition at the farmgate,” code and if it is not enforced the industry he said. could go back to the way it was,” he said.

The inquiry also analysed the impact of Introducing a mandatory code of conduct $1 per litre private label milk on earnings would address problems caused by through the dairy supply chain.

Dairy farmers believe the low price devalues their efforts, Mr Keogh said, however the inquiry found farmers earned the same regardless of whether the milk was sold as private label or branded milk.

“Farmgate prices are quarantined from other costs which affect the prices paid by supermarkets and the margins earned by processors,” Mr Keogh said.

“We don’t think that an increase in the retail price of private label milk would necessarily benefit farmers, and that any additional profit would mainly be captured by the major supermarkets and processors,” he said.

The commission’s inquiry found major supermarkets leveraged their buying power to lower wholesale processing costs and capture profits from processors, with most cost savings passed on to consumers.

The ACCC made eight recommendations in its interim report and is now asking for industry feedback on these before presenting the final report to federal government in April 2018.

Source: Johanna Baker Dowdell

www.mga.asn.au

GPK Retail

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INDUSTRY NEWS

23

NATIONAL

The phase out of plastic bags – almost complete Australian states and territories have gradually moved towards the elimination or phasing out of lightweight plastic bag usage, with one state continuing to steadfastly hold out against a ban. Environmental groups and many governments have wanted a total ban on lightweight plastic bags usage for years and finally reaching this point in their elimination from shops is an achievement.

South Australia pioneered the ban on plastic bags at the checkout in 2009, followed two years later by the Northern Territory, with the ACT enacting banning laws in 2011. Tasmania voted to ban lightweight plastic bags in 2013.

Other states have clung tenaciously to the right to have stores make plastic bags available to the public when making purchases in these states. There is some debate as to whether the decision by the major chain stores to stop supplying plastic bags to their customers in 2017 was the catalyst for the remaining states to reconsider their views of maintaining a firm stance in favour of continuing the use of plastic bags in stores.

The fact that there have been so many studies relaying the serious environmental impact of their continued use have no doubt been a factor in the government decisions of Western Australia and

Victoria to introduce change. After some hesitancy, Western Australia has decided that a ban on the bags would be implemented as from 1 July 2018.

The Andrews Government in Victoria has decided to conduct further consultation with industry with a commencement date likely in 2018.

One state continues to hold firm against a ban on plastic bags and that is NSW. The NSW government is of the view that the decision to offer, or not to offer, a plastic bag to a customer is the retailers choice and the government has decided that no regulation is required in these circumstances.

NATIONAL

Container deposit laws More than 40 years ago South Australia put a Beverage Container Act in place which pioneered the way for the eventual introduction of similar environmental schemes in other parts of Australia.

However, some states are still hesitant today to take that final step towards implementing container deposit laws (CDL) as the schemes have become known. The Northern Territory introduced CDL in 2013 but the ACT has been waiting to see what happens in NSW. Other states have finally made the move towards the introduction of CDL. Some of these schemes have been seamlessly introduced and others have been less than smooth in their introduction. Victoria steadfastly refuses to introduce a CDL scheme.

It’s really in the last few years that there appears to have been a significant debate in the eastern states as to whether they would implement CDL. Tasmania seriously considered whether that state needed a scheme in 2017. At this stage despite there being a strong environmental lobby in favour of its introduction, there has been no definite date set for its implementation.

The biggest activity on mainland Australia

in recent years for the introduction of CDL has been in NSW and Queensland.

The introduction of the new laws in Queensland has been relatively smooth, with the scheme set to commence from 1 July 2018. The Queensland Government received over 2,500 submissions when they sought public input into its proposal and there was an overwhelming support for it. There will be a 10 cent refund for “eligible containers’ and a list of the types of containers that carry this refund is listed in the available government information guide. There will be reverse vending machines conveniently located to refund the container deposits, with most giving the option to donate the money to a charity or organisation. These machines will be readily available to consumers. It is anticipated that the Queensland scheme will reduce litter and pollution, increase business and employment, protect wildlife and increase community awareness.

In NSW the CDL was implemented from 1 December 2017 but the CDL roll out has not been as impressive as Queensland.

Whilst the principles behind the scheme are the same as other states, there have been flaws in the management of

the scheme. Obviously, the collection points are the most important part of any successful scheme, but it seems that there were only 43 venues established in regional NSW for the collection of the containers, with a totally inadequate number established in the city. Added to the problems of the container collection throughout the state there are also the cross-border issues. Many retailers along the borders of NSW and Victoria are certainly at a disadvantage with many businesses being threatened with closure as the public cross from one state to another to buy commodities that are cheaper only a kilometre away. The NSW scheme has been described as one of the most “botched up initiatives ever in NSW.” Into the future, that leaves Western Australia looking to implement a CDL in, possibly in 2019. The WA government is looking to pick up intelligence on what have been the most effective and efficient schemes elsewhere. Victoria remains steadfast in its resolve to remain aloof from the CDL schemes elsewhere but who knows what might happen in the future. There will certainly be a plethora of examples, good and bad, to follow or not.

www.mga.asn.au

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INDUSTRY NEWS

25

VICTORIA

Vicky Nguyen

IGA Burwood moves to Camberwell It’s no surprise that relocating a store from one suburb to another is a big move – but MGA members IGA Burwood have successfully relocated to Camberwell.

Making it a little easier was that the move was from one side of Toorak Road, to diagonally opposite on the other side of Toorak Road and in doing so Steve and Vicky Nguyen relocated their business from 1424 Toorak Rd, Burwood to 1401 Toorak Rd Camberwell. The old site which originally traded as Entwhistle’s IGA will be redeveloped for apartments with retail below, and as the Nguyen’s are developing the site there will be no chance of another supermarket taking up tenancy there.

Although moving from a 630sqm site

to a 500sqm site the store will cater for the locals, it has been fully fitted out with brand new equipment, shelving and refrigeration. The black Koxka refrigeration looks great and blends well with the concrete look floor tiles, there is no suspended ceiling which you don’t really notice as the LED lighting is suspended at the right height to highlight the stock.

The Camberwell store has 13 doors of refrigerated liquor as well as 9 high profile bays of wine and 7 bays of spirits.

As you walk into the store fresh foods are to the right, starting with produce bins and a multi deck refrigerated produce case. There are 18 doors of dairy and meat and then the deli at the right rear

of the store which includes a Koxka Bain Marie, a 4’ service deli and 4’ open cheese display, a new UNOX oven and the mirrored tiles behind the deli give an upmarket feel to the department.

There are 8 doors of freezer and new shelving in the grocery aisles.

Another positive for the move is there is a large carpark behind the shops on the Camberwell side of the road, whereas parking was always an issue on the Burwood side.

We wish Steve and Vicky all the best with their move and the future development and congratulate them on a great looking store – which will remain in Camberwell after the Burwood side is developed.

www.mga.asn.au

26

INDUSTRY NEWS

February 2018 - Edition 1

LEGAL AND HR

27

LEGAL AND HR Jury Duty – part of the national employment standards If an employee is called up for jury service an employer is obliged to allow the employee to attend the designated court. Under the National Employment Standards the employer is required to pay the employee’s wages during attendance at Court. Full-time and part-time employees must be paid ‘make-up pay’ for the first 10 days of jury selection and jury duty. Make-up pay is the difference between the jury duty payment the employee receives (excluding any expense-related allowances) from the court and the employee’s base pay rate for the ordinary hours they would have worked. After the first 10 days of jury duty, your obligation to continue paying the employee their ordinary wage will vary 10, the payment is $116.10 a day, or $580.50 a week. After the from state to state.

10th day there is no obligation to continue paying an employee while they are serving jury duty.

Victoria Employers must pay full-time, part-time and casual employees Northern Territory their ordinary wage after the 10th day of jury service. Jury Employees receive $60 a day, or $300 a week, for the first nine payments are currently $40 per day for the first six days and days once they’re empanelled. On day ten they receive $120 $80 per day thereafter. Employers are required by law to pay for the day. After the 10th day there is no obligation to continue employees the difference between the amount they receive for paying an employee while they are serving jury duty. jury service and the amount they would reasonably expect to have earned had they been at work that day, and for the duration Queensland of any trial that they may be expected to attend.

Employers have to continue paying their employee their ordinary wage after the 10th day has passed. For the period of jury service New South Wales leave, the employer must pay the employee the difference For days 1 to 10 of attendance, all employees receive $104.75 a between the following: day, or $523.75 a week. After the 10th day there is no obligation 1. The amount paid to the employee by the relevant court for on the employer to continue paying an employee while they are their service as a juror or prospective juror; and serving on jury duty.

2. (The ordinary rate the employee would have been paid if the employee had not undertaken jury service. This applies Tasmania to full-time and part-time employees but does not apply Employees receive $218.08 a day, or $1090.40 a week. After the to casual employees. There is no limit on this obligation in 10th day there is no obligation to continue paying an employee terms of time period. while they are serving jury duty.

Western Australia South Australia Employers have to continue paying their employee their ordinary Employees receive $20 per day. After the 10th day there is wage after the 10th day has passed. However employers are able no obligation to continue paying an employee while they are to claim $10 for half day, $15 for full day or $20 for every full day serving jury duty. after the 3rd day for full time, part time and casual employees who attend jury duty. Employers who submit a claim for their Australian Capital Territory employee must also provide two pay-slips for their employee.

For the first four days, ACT employees are paid $100 a day, or The first must be for a period prior to jury duty and the other $500 a week, regardless of employment status. From days five to must be for the period whilst on jury duty.

www.mga.asn.au

28

LEGAL AND HR

Don’t tolerate workplace bullying Workplace bullying is a serious issue and a growing epidemic nationally. It is estimated that between 2.5 million and 5 million Australians have experienced some aspect of bullying over the course of their working lives. Increasingly, bullying has become a topic of concern for employers, employees and governments, and cannot be tolerated in any workplace.

A significant amount of research has been conducted to highlight the detrimental effects of bullying on both the employee and the organisations in which the behaviour occurs. Not only does workplace bullying constitute a significant threat to the health, safety and welfare of employees, it also potentially has wider consequences for employers, including reduced profitability, low morale, increased absenteeism, and staff turnover.

The problem of workplace bullying has been extensively addressed in many Australian jurisdictions. We currently have laws and Codes of Practice that demonstrate ways of preventing and responding to workplace bullying. We also have very clear guidelines on what constitutes bullying from a discrimination perspective and the remedies that can be sought under those laws. In addition, in Victoria there are criminal laws which provide remedies for serious bullying issues.

All employers are keen to maintain productive, harassment-free workplaces. Most employers would be aware of the need to have policies and procedures in place to provide for the wellbeing of their employees. These measures help to prevent the serious legal and financial implications that would inevitably result if bullying is proven to have occurred in the workplace.

Bullying problems between employees, and between managers and employees do happen, and an employer’s best method of dealing with these situations is to have a clear zero tolerance policy, and clear guidelines on how to deal with a bullying claim.

The consequences of a poorly managed bullying complaint can have serious consequences for an employee and the employer. There is a need to ensure that an organisation is empowered to effectively manage a bullying complaint.

Types of bullying Bullying in a workplace can take various forms and it is critical to understand the symptoms so that any alleged bullying problem can be addressed quickly.

Bullying can be directed at a single employee or group of employees and carried out by one or more employees. It can occur downwards from managers

February 2018 - Edition 1

to employees, sideways between employees and upwards from employees to supervisors or managers.

There are many factors that contribute to bullying including the exercise of power. Bullying is often dependent upon the perceived power of the bully over the other party. An employee entrusted with power, often a person in a supervisory or managerial role. If the power is abused, even unintentionally, it can create various forms of bullying, including intimidation, ignoring and dismissing workplace complaints, sabotaging or preventing employees from fulfilling their duties.

Those at risk of abusing their power may not even be aware of this fault. It is essential that those promoted or allocated into senior roles are the right fit. Bullies may put down others in an effort to boost their own self-esteem and confidence which then helps them to deal with personal feelings of inadequacy.

A workplace is often composed of people from different cultural backgrounds. Different personalities and backgrounds can contribute to diversity in a workplace.

Unfortunately, an individual or group can sometimes be targeted by a workplace bully because they are observed as being new or different.

Some people bully others because they see the other person as a threat to them personally, or a threat to their position within the company. It is not always a manager who can be a bully, although they are usually the one with the “power.”

It can sometimes be an ambitious employee who spreads

29

LEGAL AND HR

rumours and gossip about a supervisor in an effort to destroy the supervisor’s credibility.

People may bully others due to dissatisfaction with organisational arrangements and adjustments. Changes such as a transmission of business, restructuring, the appointment of new managers/ supervisors, new rosters, as well as organisational factors such as inadequate supervision, have the potential to give rise to bullying behaviour.

The separation of employees or work groups from supervisors, due for instance to the existence of different departments, may result in bullying being undetected and may prevent effective monitoring.

There are many contributing factors so an organisation is advised to be aware of how they may impact the business and this gives rise to the need for solutions.

How should a workplace deal with bullying?

The best remedy is prevention, the second remedy is early detection of bullying and the final one is action. Organisations do not plan to fail; they fail to plan. Therefore, it is critical to have an anti-bullying strategy in place aimed at preventing and reducing the risk of all workplace bullying. Policies and procedures will help employers prevent or the risk of workplace bullying as far as reasonably practicable.

1. Have a strong policy in place that is distributed to all employees, is always visible and promoted amongst staff.

2. Promote the contents of your policy at workplace meetings.

3. Take prompt action if an incident of bullying is reported directly or indirectly.

4. Investigate the complaint, maintain confidentiality and take the necessary action.

5. Resolve the complaint according to your policy guidelines.

Workplace bullying needs to be understood and addressed.

Not only should systems be applied to adequately deal with a complaint of bullying, measured attempts should also be made to ensure that a positive workplace culture is promoted, one that does not tolerate the existence of bullying at work and one that emphasises mutual respect and understanding.

MGA will be running seminars on “Stopping Workplace Bullying.” The next one will be in Melbourne: Date: 17 April 2018 Time: 9.00am – 1.00pm Members price: $165 pp including GST Visit www.mga.asn.au.courses.seminars-and-workshops for more information.

Making an employee management contract Many members want to reward their best employees by giving them a managerial role and paying them a salary.

It is important for members to be aware that whilst having a management contract is a commendable way of providing incentives to good employees there may be some pitfalls that should be considered.

All employees who earn less than $142,000 per annum are basically subject to an industrial award and they all have the protection of the National Employment Standards, even for salaried managers, it is not possible to contract out of the NES entitlements such as, annual leave, personal leave and parental leave. Long service leave is also a statutory requirement for all Australians.

All retailers are aware of the high penalty rates that are payable under the General Retail Industry Award (GRA) on certain dates and times. Sunday penalties and public holidays are considered to be formidable and can be extremely high depending on the classification. There are classifications in the GRA that cover managerial staff and it is these rates that should be taken into account when forming a “management contract.”

If you intend to make a management contract you should carefully consider what hours you expect your employee to work and you will need to calculate whether your proposed “salary payments” compensate for what is payable under the award. It should be noted that a store manager who works on Sunday for 5 hours under the GRA would receive $239.55 and would be entitled to $276.40 for the same hours on a public holiday.

All entitlements need to be provided for, including annual leave loading. The contract needs to be carefully worded to ensure that any employee who agrees to a management contract is given the assurance that all award entitlements are covered in the agreement.

This also protects the employer in the event that the employee challenges the agreement at some time in the future.

If a member has any doubt about making a management contract with an employee then please contact MGA’s Legal & HR Team on 03 9824 4111 (option 1).

www.mga.asn.au

Ask your customers to press or to get cash out and avoid ATM fees.

CHQ

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31

LEGAL AND HR

Support persons and disciplinary meetings One of the factors that the Fair Work Commission is required to consider when determining if a dismissal was unfair is whether the employer unreasonably refused to allow the employee to have a support person during any discussions relating to dismissal.

The role of support persons The support person is present to support the employee who’s the subject of the meeting, not to advocate for the employee.

Generally, a support person is expected to take notes, assist with clarifying the process or questions asked and quietly prompt or give advice to an employee, including requesting a break if needed, but only to the extent that their input does not overly disrupt the meeting.

Should employers offer a support person to an employee?

There is no obligation under the Fair Work Act for employers to offer a support person to the employee during discussions.

The obligation is not to unreasonably refuse a request to have a support person by an employee.

explained to the support person that they are present in the meeting for emotional support only and they are not to act as an advocate for the employee. The employee must answer the questions themselves, not the support person.

If at any point the support person appears to be advocating or is becoming argumentative, they should be reminded of their role as a support person only, not an advocate. If they continue to be obstructive, they should be warned that if they continue with their behaviour they will be asked to leave.

As a last resort, the support person can be asked to leave the meeting on the basis that they are being too obstructive and not carrying out the role of a support person. Depending on the circumstances, the meeting can then continue with the employee alone, be rescheduled for another time with a different support person or the employee can be given the opportunity to respond to the allegations in writing.

Please contact MGA’s Legal & HR Team on 03 9824 4111 (option 1) for more information.

Even though there is no obligation to offer a support person, MGA’s advice is that it is best practice for employers to advise employees before a disciplinary meeting that they are entitled to have a support person present. These discussions are often stressful for employees and a support person can be useful to assist an employee who may become upset.

Furthermore, in recent unfair dismissal cases, employers have been criticised for not offering a support person and not informing the employees regarding the purpose of the meeting which was deemed to be unfair in the circumstances.

NEW & EXCITING FLAVOURS

Can an employer refuse a support person?

An employer can only refuse to allow a support person to attend a meeting if it is reasonable to do so. Occasions where it may be reasonable to deny a support person selected by the employee, may include when the support person is: • In a more senior role than the person conducting the meeting; • Involved in the issues being addressed in the meeting; or • Someone who may be disruptive to the process, such as an ex-employee.

If an employer denies a selected support person, it should be made clear that the employee is able to select a more appropriate support person to avoid breaching the Fair Work Act. How to manage difficult support persons It is important to confirm to the support person at the outset of the meeting what their role is in the meeting. It should be

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Contact your De Bortoli representative for more details or visit debortoli.com.au

www.mga.asn.au

33

LIQUOR NEWS

LIQUOR NEWS Woolworths and Coles refused liquor planning permits MGA Liquor, working with members and the local community, have successfully argued at two separate council planning meetings in Melbourne to have planning applications by Coles for a new liquor store licence and a developer to redevelop a site and have a licenced Woolworths Metro store relocated as its tenant rejected.

“cumulative impact” of liquor sales, which impacted families, health and local amenity.

than doubling its size.

The shopping strip already has two bottle shops and a licensed Foodworks store all “This is right in the middle of Reservoir and within 50 metres of each other. we want it to be a great place for people to hang out…..I don’t think this application MGA worked with the stores affected and contributes to that,” she said. the local community being impacted to argue against the need for another bottle In the first case, plans for a new bottle Neighbouring business owner and MGA shop, and the impact it would have on the shop at Reservoir Coles was unanimously member Amol Maken who argued against amenity of the surrounding area. Bayside rejected by the Darebin Council after more the application said another alcohol retailer Council refused the application. than 70 local residents signed a petition was not needed and that he was forced These were both terrific wins for our against the proposed shop. to roster on additional staff at night for members against what sometimes security and safety purposes. can seem overwhelming odds against The Spring Street shopping strip already the might and resources of Coles and has five bottle shops within walking The second case, involved the Woolworths. It shows just what can be distance from the proposed Coles site. redevelopment of an existing site in Bluff achieved when members are supported by Road, Black Rock in which a Woolworths their organisation to gain awareness and Councillor Steph Amir condemned the Metro Store was to be relocated, more secure community support.

Wine Industry icon recognised The Winemakers’ Federation of Australia has congratulated recipients of this year’s Australia Day Honours – including respected industry icon Colin Campbell (OAM).

“Colin is part of the fabric of WFA and has been a passionate advocate for our industry his entire life,” WFA Chief Executive Tony Battaglene said.

“Colin is well known and well loved by many. It is great to see Colin awarded the Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australian in the General Division in recognition of his important life’s work including services to winemaking, WFA in particular, and to the community of Rutherglen.

“These awards show winemakers

are not just excellent at their craft but they are committed to their local communities and regions and they give back.

“To Colin and other recipients this year recognised for services to the winemaking industry and to regional Australia, we toast you.

Rutherglen winemaker Colin Campbell

WFA recognised Colin’s outstanding achievements as an Australian icon of the wine industry in 2016 when he was awarded a Life Member of the Australian Wine Industry.

Among 2018 recipients are: • Serafino Maglieri (McLaren Vale, South Australia) who received a Member (AM) in the General

•

Division for significant service to the South Australia’s Italian community, a range of charitable and tourism activities and as a winemaker; and Victor Patrick (Flaxman Valley, SA) who received a Medal (OAM) in the General Division for services to the South Australian wine industry.

www.mga.asn.au

34

LIQUOR NEWS

February 2018 - Edition 1

35

LIQUOR NEWS NATIONAL

MC Nick Cook, Tony Leon, Peter Yeoman

George Kovits, Arthur Corcoris, Judy O’Connell, Jos de Bruin

Tony Ingpen, Darren Campbell, Jordan Campbell

Steve Sellars, David Seymour, Angelo Giannetta, Graeme Sinclair

Darren Campbell, Michael Macdonald, MC Nick Cook, Steve Sellars, Jason Daniels, Michael Reddrop, Jordan Campbell

MGAL 2017 industry update and Christmas function On Thursday 7 December, MGA National Liquor Committee held its 2017 industry update and Christmas function, which was hosted by Phillip Morris International at their Victorian national corporate office at Southwharf.

The event was well attended by over 60 independent liquor retailers, corporate partners, suppliers and industry stakeholders, allowing attendees the opportunity to engage and discuss issues affecting our industry in a relaxed and informal environment.

MGA Liquor Committee member and IGA Liquor National Chairman Tony Ingpen updated the meeting on key issues that MGAL are addressing on their behalf such as; illicit tobacco trade, ACCC submission

into the inquiry of retail power costs, introduction of the Container Deposit Schemes into NSW, ACT, QLD and WA, introduction of a nationally recognised RSA Certificate, as well as many other state and territory government and statutory body issues.

In closing, Tony reiterated the valuable and important role the independent liquor retail sector plays in maintaining a diverse and competitive market place for both suppliers and consumers.

The group was also fortunate to be addressed by our key note speaker Victorian Small Business Commissioner Judy O’Connell who, when appointed in December 2016 continues to advocate “to make sure Victorian small businesses

have a fair and competitive environment whilst running their business”.

With over 550,000 small businesses in Victoria employing over 50% of the state’s private sector jobs, the Commissioner outlined her commitment to monitor the impact of market trends, legislation and government policies and their impact on small business and recommend, report and advocate change where appropriate.

In closing MGA Liquor once again would like to thank PMI for hosting this peak industry event, and would like to give special mention and thanks to Ben Meredith and Laura May for all their assistance.

The full presentation can be viewed in the MGA member portal.

www.mga.asn.au

TRAINING

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MGA INDUSTRY TRAINING Food safety risks in supermarkets Food is so easily available in our stores and customers expect that the food that they purchase is safe to eat and nutritious.

Fresh food is generally displayed on clean brightly lit shelves and cabinets and presented in attractive packaging, all looking perfectly fine. This can mask the complexity of factors involved in ensuring the food we buy is safe.

An increasing amount of food products are supplied through supply chains that can link to producers from all over the world. Every item has multiple risks associated with it on the journey from farm or producer to the consumer. Many factors along the food supply chains can affect the health of the consumer, such as: • From pesticides, herbicides and GM crops on the farm, to contamination from pests • From handling practices at every point along the chain, to the ingredients of processed foods and the methods used to make them • From storage conditions and food packaging to labelling adequately informing the consumer of safety and dietary considerations • And lastly, of course, the hygienic handling of products in the store.

There are a multitude of opportunities where the safety of the consumer can be compromised. Some of the main categories of food safety risk in supermarkets or food related businesses are: Hygiene of employees across all businesses when preparing or processing food is one of the most common causes of food contamination.

Hands can easily transfer bacteria from a contaminated surface to fresh food.

Adequate hand washing with soap is essential after smoking, eating, going to the bathroom, touching hair, using cleaning products, etc.

Raw foods can pick up bacteria and other contaminants along the path from farm to shelf.

• Raw meat, poultry, fish and shellfish can carry infectious diseases and pose a risk to shoppers if not handled or packaged properly • Products prepared and packaged in store, such as cooked meats, cheeses or bakery products, need the same safe food handling practices • Products that are eaten raw and grow near to the ground, such as, celery, lettuce and strawberries can easily pick up soil particles • You should wash fresh fruit and vegetables before using them in preparing food in the business.

Rodents not only gnaw packaging and eat food, they also leave a trail of contaminated surfaces along their runs from urine, droppings, and greasy smudge marks from their fur or dirt on their feet.

• Rats and mice are primarily attracted by accessible food and water and will then seek shelter nearby • Loading bays where food may be stored or spilled, and garbage areas can attract rodents if cleaning is not maintained • If rats and mice can access a building they will be attracted by food in storage and on display, as well as food spills and waste left or stored inappropriately.

Flies carry dangerous bacteria and other disease-causing microorganisms, over 100 pathogens have been recorded from flies.

• They feed on faecal matter, garbage and rotting materials, while doing that they also pick up contaminated materials on their feet and bodies • They then transfer it to clean areas and fresh foods that they feed on • Flies regurgitate digestive juices and defecate while feeding and resting, transferring more pathogens.

The use of electric fly catchers kills flies that land on their high voltage wires.

These must be placed away from food areas as when the fly enters the catcher the results of sparks can spray the fly parts over the food nearby.

Cockroaches are attracted by small residues of food left around food preparation areas or from spills, garbage and drains. They can also be transferred to the premises through poor practices by the suppliers or transporters. Cockroaches damage food and spread disease by: • Defecating as they crawl around • Frequently expel saliva on surfaces to taste their environment • Droppings and bodily secretions stain and leave a foul odour on food, packaging and surfaces • Casting skins and egg cases contaminating products and packaging • Dropping and cast skins contain allergens that can induce asthma.

www.mga.asn.au

38

TRAINING

NATIONAL ONLINE COURSES MGA delivers training and compliance solutions specific to the needs of independent retailers. We have a range of training and compliance solutions readily available for members. *Log in to our website with your member login to order your courses at these member prices.

Call us on 1800 888 479 (option 3) if you need your log in details.

Manage Training System (MTS) Manage Training System (MTS) is an easy to use training program – set up training per department, allocate courses to staff, monitor results and have complete training records for all staff. Either use included HR policies or upload your own including staff rosters!

Stopping Workplace Bullying Employers need to provide a clear understanding of management’s position in relation to bullying – not just a policy, but clear guidelines of their expectations.

There is a need to educate managers and foster mutual respect amongst workers. A bullying issue that is not addressed promptly can result in massive financial losses to your business and damage the culture within your workplace.

This seminar will assist you to establish a workplace free from bullying.

MELBOURNE Date: 17 April 2018; Time: 9.00am – 1.00pm; Member price: $165

February 2018 - Edition 1

TRAINING

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Online and face to face training MGA Industry Training offers discounted training for all members. Courses are online or can be conducted face to face at your business for 10 or more employees! Responsible Service of Alcohol, Food Safety, Employment Law, Customer Service, plus more!!!

Tobacco training This course covers information on the legal obligations for the sale and service of tobacco, non-tobacco smoking products, smoking accessories, e-cigarettes and e-cigarette accessories in each respective state/ territory. Training ensures your staff comply with Tobacco Retailing Laws – protecting your business.

STATE BASED TRAINING Duration: 30 minutes Member price: FREE

Don’t forget to log in for your member discounts!

Visit www.mga.asn.au to see our range of training courses!

www.mga.asn.au