IR May 2016 by MGA Independent Businesses Australia

Print post no. 100011226

www.mga.asn.au

May Edition 3 2016

Prime Minister Turnbull announces Competition Laws to be strengthened National Support Office â&#x20AC;˘ 1800 888 479 â&#x20AC;˘ www.mga.asn.au

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May 2016 - Edition 3

Our Mission The mission of MGA Independent Retailers is to deliver the best possible industry specific business support services to independent grocery, liquor and associate store members.

Contents 5 CEO Welcome

Industry News 6 Prime Minister Turnbull makes an historic announcement

9 COSBOA presents 29,000 signatures to Minister for Small Business

MGA National Support Office

11 MGA’s Grocery and Liquor Association industry (GALA) Golf Day – Victoria

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

9 Ban on excessive credit card payment surcharging 11 ACCC announces new country of origin food labelling laws 13 MGAQ Committee meets QLD Minister for Small Business Hon Leeanne Enoch,

representing the QLD Premier Hon Annastacia Palaszczuk

13 MGA Liquor meets Victorian Shadow Minister Russell Northe 15 IGA Springfield Lakes – Brisbane, Queensland 16 Are the effects of the “effects test” really so problematic? 19 Letter to the Prime Minister 20 CCTV can save retailer thousands of dollars in theft and shrinkage

Rodney Allen (President) – Victoria Andrew Bray – New South Wales Michael Daly – Victoria Gino Divitini – Western Australia Grant Hinchcliffe – Tasmania Steve Miller – Victoria Chris dos Santos – South Australia Debbie Smith – Queensland

21 Energy savings with Keemin Energy Solutions

Chief Executive Officer

31 TWE educates shoppers to bring wine to the table in May and June

Jos de Bruin 03 9824 4111 jos.debruin@mga.asn.au

Corporate Partnership & Media Sales Steve Sellars 0407 399 240 steve.sellars@mga.asn.au

23 Are you meeting your tax and super obligations?

Liquor News 25 Wine pioneering ‘champions’ applauded by industry 26 From father to son: Reddrops family business continues to strengthen 33 Around the World

Legal and HR 36 Ten questions and answers on the General Retail Industry Award (GRA) 37 Calculating overtime in the Retail Award 37 Annual leave under the National Employment Standards 39 Meet Nikola Prestia – MGA’s newest addition to the Legal and HR Team

Editorial and Production

Training

production@independentretailer.net.au

40 Safe Work Instructions (SWI) 41 Improve health and safety within the workplace

Cover image credit: Andrew Meares www.mga.asn.au

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May 2016 - Edition 3

CEO Welcome

CEO Welcome MGA welcomes historic “effects test” On the 16th March 2016 the Prime Minister of Australia, Hon Malcolm Turnbull, the Treasurer Hon Scott Morrison, and the Assistant Treasurer & Small Business Minister Hon Kelly O’Dwyer, made an historical announcement concerning the Harper Competition Policy Review Panel’s recommendation to strengthen s46 of the CCA. It has always been MGA’s position that the introduction of an effects test is good public policy. It will protect the competitive process and through that, allow robust competition. The PM announced the recommendation will be supported by the Cabinet and the Coalition Government in full. This is a major win for the entire business community in Australia – small, medium and large sized businesses will benefit from the strong s46 competition laws that will deter exclusionary behaviour, particularly those very large businesses that have substantial market power. The entire business community, with the exception of those very large companies who are part of oligopolies or are monopolistic (and include the BCA), have applauded this “common sense” decision. Typically, big business leaders felt there should be no change to the current s46 law – so they could continue to dominate and crowd out smaller businesses – this is fair competition they say! MGA led the most recent campaigning with 22 other Industry associations CEO’s and leaders. After 9 years of member and consumer research, 4 major reports (& 2 NARGA reports before that) and intense lobbying with various The following 21 Industry Associations are united, that the Harper recommendation to amend s46 should occur – representing 800,000 businesses employing over 5million people.

Deputy Prime Minister Hon Barnaby Joyce, Treasurer Hon Scott Morrison, Assistant Treasurer and Small Business Minister Hon Kelly O’Dwyer with representatives from the Alliance of Industry Associations governments MGA et al. have achieved a very positive result that has finally been delivered. The former Minister for Small Business and Competition Matters, Hon Bruce Billson, led the charge for competition law reform – strengthening s46, after the Coalition were successful in winning the 2013 federal election. A Root and Branch review of the Competition Act, the appointment of the Harper Competition Policy Review Panel, endless consultations and the final Harper Panel report released on 31st March 2015, led to the outstanding announcement by the PM on 16th March. MGA, through its Directors and staff, have built very close contact and relationships with a plethora of Ministers, Shadow Ministers, back benchers and cross benchers over the past several years. Government relationships have never been stronger! MGA’s members and industry stakeholders also played a very big part in the success of this campaign. Retailers and industry stakeholders have been constantly lobbying and making contact with their local MPs and Ministers advocating for Competition Law reform. A very big “well done” to all members of our terrific industry for your incredibly valuable efforts in campaigning for this result. No matter how big or small, every effort did make a difference! What’s next? The States must be consulted, then the Bill for reform will go through the Upper House and Lower House for debate and hopefully safe passage. All this will be dependent upon the imminent risk of a double dissolution election likely to be announced on or before the 11th May – if there is an election it will be scheduled for 2nd July 2016. We sincerely thank our strong parliamentary supporters for this reform including; The Nationals – Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, Minister Matthew Canavan, Senator John Williams; The Greens – Nick McKim and Peter Whish-Wilson, Independent Senator Nick Xenophon and of course we thank and congratulate the Cabinet and the Coalition Government as a whole for listening to the arguments, hearing what we have had to say and making a decision based upon the facts.

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Industry News

Prime Minister Turnbull makes an historic announcement – Competition Laws to be Strengthened Harper Panel recommendation to strengthen section 46 endorsed 100% by the Prime Minister, Hon Malcolm Turnbull. Transcript of joint press conference with the Treasurer and Minister for Small business and Assistant Treasurer. PRIME MINISTER: Well good day to you all. Now as you know our future prosperity depends on innovation, competition, productivity. That’s how Australia is able to enjoy and seize the great opportunities of the 21st century. Now right at the heart of innovation is competition. I mean, they’re linked, competitive firms, the more competitive firms are the most innovative. And as you know we’ve been looking very closely at the provisions of the Consumer and Competition Act, particularly Section 46 that relate to the misuse of market power. And last night the Cabinet has agreed that we will move to amend Section 46 in line with the recommendations of the Harper Review. What this will do is ensure that our competition law works better to enable competition, to enable smaller businesses, emerging businesses, to be better able to compete because we know that while larger firms are often very innovative and often very competitive, they are more innovative if the hot breath of competition is coming down their neck.

one that has been canvassed for many years, one that has been in the long grass for many years, like media reform. You might even say, like reform of the Senate voting system. We’ve taken them, those issues out of the too hard basket and we’re getting on with the job. And on that note, I’d introduce the Treasurer to expand on these opening remarks. TREASURER: Well thank you Prime Minister and it’s great to be joined also by the Assistant Treasurer and I want to commend the Assistant Treasurer on the work that she’s done in recent times, particularly in working through the consultative process. I want to thank all of those who’ve been part of what has been a very long consultative process through the Harper Report process itself and the extended consultations that we have undertaken since that time. There have been a broad variety of views but it’s for governments to make decisions and it’s for governments to make decisions that we believe will do one of the most important things, if not the most important thing that we’re faced with at the moment and that is to assist and support and enable the transition that is taking place in our economy. And competition is at the heart of ensuring that our economy continues to succeed.

So we want to have a competitive Australia. We want an Australia where every business, small or large, believes that the competition laws are protecting them and above all protecting competition.

Last year real growth of 3 percent, 300,000 jobs. For this to continue we must remain a competitive, as well as an agile economy, and an innovative economy. That competition does drive innovation.

The key change and I’ll just note this, the key changes are that we would have in a new Section 46, it would provide, Section 46 (1) ‘’a corporation that has substantial degree of power in a market shall not engage in conduct if the conduct has the purpose or would have or be likely to have the effect, the effects test, of substantially lessening competition in that or any other market”.

Now the measures that we’ve announced today and the Prime Minister’s gone through make some important changes but what it also does is it restores confidence in one of the key levers that exist institutionally to drive the competitive process.

So the object of the section is very different, or subtly different from the previous one, from the existing one because it seeks to protect competition and when you protect the competitive process, when you protect competition, you’re not protecting one firm or another, you’re protecting consumers overall. You’re protecting the whole competitive process. This is a vital economic reform. This is yet again a case of my government taking long overdue reforms out of the too hard basket and getting on with the job. This is reform, a long overdue reform,

May 2016 - Edition 3

This is about supporting the competitive process. The changes remove the provisions that talk about disadvantaging a competitor and talks about substantially lessening competition. It’s about competition. It’s not about whether one is taking the view of larger businesses or smaller businesses or medium-sized businesses. It’s about taking the view that competition benefits the consumer and that’s what is at the heart of the changes that we have announced today. These changes also bring us into line with international practice more fully in relation to these sorts of issues and that I think is an

Industry News

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announces cabinet’s approval of the effects test with Treasurer Scott Morrison and Small Business Minister Kelly O’Dwyer. Photo: Andrew Meares important change as well to bring us in step with those practices that are followed in other jurisdictions. It’s not the first time competition laws have been changed. It’s not the first time that prior to competition laws being changed that there were all sorts of views about what the impacts of those might be. And in all of these cases, the competition reforms that have been part of our evolving economy over decades have always meant better news for the consumer and have always spurred on the competition and the innovation and the growth that we seek. So once again just to make the point about the three key changes, the first one is the removal of the take advantage position. The second one is to introduce the substantially lessening competition test, which is consistent with the other provisions that elsewhere sit in the Act. And the third one is to introduce the effects test.

ASSISTANT TREASURER AND MINISTER FOR SMALL BUSINESS I might just say a couple of words as the Minister for Small Business and Assistant Treasurer. Having an effective misuse of market power provision within the competition laws is absolutely critical to Australia’s small business community. The more than 2 million small businesses that employ more than 4.7 million Australians and contribute around about $340 billion each and every year to our national economy. The changes that have been announced today in response to the Harper recommendations are unashamedly about pro-competition. And in being pro-competition, they’re pro-business, they’re giving all business the opportunity to have a go and that’s what is at the heart of these changes. Giving all business the chance to have a go in a competitive environment. We know, as a government, that small business is absolutely critical to the nation’s economy, it is critical to our nation’s growth and it’s critical to job creation. So allowing small business the opportunity to grow, to innovate, to back themselves, to invest in their business.

In addition to that, there are the mandatory factors which would need to be taken into account by the courts to consider these matters that give further instruction to the courts about what the intent of these provisions are, which was recommended by Professor Harper in his final report.

This is the latest example of what the government has done to support small business off the back of changes that were announced in last year’s Budget. The $5.5 billion jobs and growth package, giving a 1.5 per cent company tax cut to small business. A discount, a 5 per cent discount for unincorporated entities. A $20,000 instant asset write-off for eligible assets up to the value of $20,000 from you know, the day of the Budget right through until 30 June 2017.

So it’s a clear decision. It’s now for it to be implemented and to let competition run and the big benefit of competition will always go to the consumer and to jobs and to growth.

This is a government that backs small business. This is a government that backs competition and this is a change that is unashamedly pro-competition.

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May 2016 - Edition 3

Industry News

COSBOA presents 29,000 signatures to Minister for Small Business On the 23rd March, COSBOA CEO, Peter Strong presented the Minister for Small Business and Assistant Treasurer, Hon Kelly O’Dwyer, with 29,000 signatures from people around Australia who support the Harper Panel recommendation Hon Kelly O’Dwyer with Peter Strong to strengthen section 46 (misuse of market power) in the Competition and Consumer Act, by introducing an effects test.

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The signatures were collected by IGA stores around Australia who took part in the recent “Let’s Compete – Change the Law” instore campaign. Thank you to all those stores who participated in this “grass roots” campaign.

Ban on excessive credit card payment surcharging The Competition and Consumer Amendment (Payment Surcharges) Act 2016 commenced on 25 February 2016. The Act inserted a new section into the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA) which bans excessive payment surcharges. The introduction of this ban now prohibits excessive surcharges relating to payments covered by a Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) standard or regulation made under the CCA. The new provisions limit the amount that businesses can surcharge customers for the use of payment methods such as credit and debit cards. The limit is linked to the direct costs of the payment method such as bank fees and terminal costs. The draft RBA standard proposes that businesses will receive information from their payment facilitators to help them set an appropriate payment surcharge which does not exceed their permitted surcharge. The timing of implementation will depend on the RBA standard which is still being finalised. This allows businesses time to consider whether any payment surcharges currently being applied are higher than the cost of accepting that payment type.

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The ACCC will be enforcing these new provisions from later this year and will provide more detailed guidance to businesses once the RBA consultation on its standard is finalised. When more information comes to hand MGA will forward all details to members.

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May 2016 - Edition 3

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Industry News

MGA’s Grocery and Liquor Association industry (GALA) Golf Day – Victoria Thanks to a very hard working GALA Committee and the wonderful cooperation from the Keysborough Golf Club, the 74th GALA Industry Golf Day was again a huge success, providing a great opportunity for the industry to network and connect. Over 130 industry golfers took part in the day with 6 groups hitting off in the early morning and 31 groups in the afternoon. The weather was ideal and the course in terrific condition. All said no excuses for poor golfing other than yourself. There were 110 people who attended the early evening presentations and dinner. MGA member Tony Ingpen from Mount Evelyn Supa IGA was our very capable MC for the evening. Matthew Richardson, a very popular ex Richmond AFL full forward and Channel 7 commentator was the special guest and speaker. The Reach Foundation CEO, Trisha Squires was also a special guest and speaker. Long-time industry supporter Jan Allat was our special guest, and once again through the Allat family trust, made a very generous contribution to Reach. All proceeds from the day, including putting competitions, raffles and donations amounted to over $21k being raised for the Reach Foundation. This is a tremendous contribution from our industry to a very worthy community organisation in the Reach Foundation. The GALA committee wishes to thank all major and in kind sponsors of this day. Without your help and support we could not hold this day and make a contribution back to the community in the way that we do. Finally we wish to thank Roy and the team from the Lions Club for giving up their time to cook up a magnificent lunch for all the hungry golfers.

Tony Ingpen and Matthew Richardson

Jos de Bruin and Reach CEO Trisha Squires Winning Team Gross 62; Nett 54.250 Premium Beverages Anaesthetised Anaesthetis: Jonathan Rayson-Hill, Daniel Gardner, Paul Judd, Ben Myers Runner up team Gross 66 Nett 54.750 Happy Gilmore – FoodWorks: Rick Wight, Tim Heath, Bashir Riachi, Darren Watson 3rd Team Gross 66; Nett 56.00 Asahi Premium Beverages Gold: Trent Touhy, Patric Demezieres, Josh Grech, Mick Henderson

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Golf winners – Premium Beverages

ACCC announces new country of origin food labelling laws Should any MGA member sell food in retail stores in Australia, new country of origin food labelling laws will apply to your products from 1 July 2016. The new requirements will vary depending on the type of food product and whether it was grown, produced, made or packed in Australia or another country. While the new rules come into effect from 1 July, businesses will have time to implement their labelling changes over a two-year transition period. This means food products packaged up until 1 July 2018 can still be sold without the new labels.

Key facts about the laws • All food that currently needs to be labelled with a country of origin will continue to do so. • Most food that is made, produced or grown in Australia will need to carry a label that also includes a kangaroo symbol, as well as text and a bar chart indicating the percentage of Australian ingredients. • Labels for most products packed in Australia that contain imported foods which have undergone no or only minor processing in Australia will carry a ‘packed’ statement, as well as text and a bar chart

indicating the percentage of Australian ingredients. They will not carry the kangaroo symbol. • Imported food will continue to show where it was grown, produced, made. If the food was not grown, produced or made in a single country it will need to indicate where it was packed and that it is of multiple origins or comprises imported ingredients. For more information on what the new labels will look like and how to get started go to website: www.business.gov.au

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ANDREW BOGUT

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Industry News

MGAQ Committee meets QLD Minister for Small Business Hon Leeanne Enoch, representing the QLD Premier Hon Annastacia Palaszczuk Three members of the MGAQ committee, Debbie Smith, Peter Lee, Terry Slaughter and MGA CEO Jos de Bruin met with the QLD Minister for Small Business Hon Leeanne Enoch, who was also representing QLD Premier Hon Annastacia Palaszczuk, in Brisbane on the 30th of March 2016. Minister Enoch was very engaging and probably the most receptive QLD Minister we have met for quite some time. She listened, asked the right questions and understood who MGA QLD members are. All three of the Committee members introduced themselves and gave a brief background of their businesses. This exercise was of great interest to the Minister who could relate to each area and some of the business challenges MGA members face in QLD. Some of the key issues raised with the Minister include; 1. MGAQ members being represented on the QLD Small Business Advisory Committee a. The Minister looked favourably upon this request and will be in touch with MGAQ in the near future 2. Packaged Liquor for Supermarkets – particularly QLD independent supermarkets whose businesses are impaired and are not able to compete fairly with Coles and Woolworths a. The Minister understood this subject and has committed to discussing MGAQ’s concerns with the Attorney General Hon Yvette D’Ath 3. We briefly discussed MGAQ members opposing the deregulation of trading hours owing to the market dominance of both chains

MGA CEO Jos de Bruin with Terry Slaughter, Debbie Smith, Peter Lee and Minister for Small Business Hon Leeanne Enoch (centre)

(80%) that could represent a serious threat to the ongoing existence of smaller retailers in QLD And finally…. 4. Minister Enoch was very interested to discuss QLD planning and zoning issues and how they affected MGAQ’s members. Owing to time constraints, Minister Enoch did indicate she wanted a follow up meeting with MGAQ to discuss this issue further. It is her view that there is a major issue with planning and zoning practices in QLD at present, particularly in regional centres such as Townsville, Bundaberg and Toowoomba to name a few MGAQ is in the process of organising another meeting with Minister Enoch to follow up on these discussions.

MGA Liquor meets Victorian Shadow Minister Russell Northe On the 11th April, MGA Liquor Committee President George Kovits, together with Jos de Bruin met with the Shadow Minister for Consumer Affairs, Liquor and Gaming, Hon Russell Northe. There were many issues and opportunities discussed pertaining to the Victorian MGA Liquor members. These included inconsistent trading hours, unfair and very high liquor license fees, planning and zoning issues and opportunities for the Victorian Government to further invest in educational programs to improve the community culture toward responsible consumption of alcohol instead of imposing more regulations and cost burdens.

MGA Liquor President George Kovits, Russell Northe and Jos de Bruin

The Shadow Minister was grateful for the meeting and the insights we could share so that he could develop new and relevant positions and policy positions for the benefit of privately owned and family enterprise businesses in Victoria.

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May 2016 - Edition 3

Industry News

IGA Springfield Lakes – Brisbane, Queensland Four years ago Terry and Frances Slaughter embarked upon a new career and life. They became the proud owners of the local 550 square metre IGA supermarket Springfield Lakes store in Queensland. Terry, having had extensive grocery retail experience with one of the chains, together with Frances and family, finally had a chance to put his experience, capability and importantly, enormous passion for exceptional customer service to the test. Once getting a feel for the store, its customers and the local community, Terry began to gradually improve the store and with this, so too did customer counts and sales improve year on year. Within this time Terry and Frances’ son, Mitch, also joined the business and has worked through all the departments to gain valuable experience in running the store. Given Terry’s past experience, staff training has been an ongoing focus in the store. Staff are required to multi task on many occasions given the size of the store. Owing to its first class location, this store has peak periods at various times of the day for which staff are required to be fast, friendly and efficient with their customer service. The store serves 1,000 customers per day. Within the past 12 months Terry and Frances have invested heavily but smartly into refurbishing the store. Refurbishments were completed by December 2015 and the results have been

demonstrable. This included the installation of “A Golden Casket lottery” facility, a new front end area and a beautiful delicatessen section adjoining the customer service area to drive efficiencies and fast customer service. A new fresh area was also installed at the front of the store, including fresh flowers, giving immediate shopper appeal. The store carries approximately 15,000 skus, has 20 freezer doors full of products, a fully stocked fresh meat section and 5 aisles of well-presented dry grocery and general merchandise items. Since the changes to the store have been made Terry’s customer count is up by 500 customers a week, fresh meat sales are up 20%, average basket size has increased by 15% and total sales have also increased by 15%. The motto of this store is always to provide “quick and friendly customer service – nobody waits” Well done to Terry, Frances and Mitch Slaughter! Incidentally Terry is also very active within our industry. Terry is a MGA Queensland Committee member as well as being on various state committees for his group.

Mitch and Terry Slaughter

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Industry News

Are the effects of the “effects test” really so problematic? Since the announcement by the Federal Government on 16th March 2016 that the law was to be amended to provide for amendments to Section 46 of the Competition and Consumer Act there has been a hysterical response from big business. Despite all the submissions and consultations, and justification for the proposed change, big businesses have loudly expressed their obvious disappointment of the Government’s decision and have vented their strong opposition to the proposed reform. In recent weeks, particularly straight after the PM’s announcement, we have heard from Coles CEO John Durkan, expounding his view that his company would be loath to enter into lucrative extensive business contracts in the event of the introduction of an effects test, for fear of legal consequences. Wesfarmers CEO Richard Goyder has also been shrill in his response to the effects test announcement, declaring that his organisation’s ability to invest more than $1 billion dollars into new developments is at risk. Yet the firm over which he presides, Wesfarmers, has just completed the $705m purchase of the Homebase Hardware Group in the UK, which has had an effects test encapsulated within UK competition law already for many years. What is the problem Mr Goyder? Catherine Livingstone, President of the Business Council of Australia also spoke out against the introduction of the effects test, surprise,

surprise! (BCA is the voice for the likes of Wesfarmers, Woolworths, Telstra – all of whom want no changes to competition laws), saying that market leaders would be stifled by its introduction and would hesitate before embarking on new business ventures, and added that the regulator, in the form of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) would hold far too much power. Another unfounded statement from the all-powerful, self-interested big business sector that insinuates the Australian economy will collapse if the effects test were to be introduced. The Harper Panel’s recommendation, made after an exhaustive Australia wide consultation process, to strengthen section 46 with an effects test, is simply good public policy. In the best interest of all Australians. We also heard from Michael McCormack from pipe operator APA Group that, ”a company with market power… regardless of whether it is intending to behave counter-competitively or not, will be sucked into the vortex of this reform.” All this fear prompts the question, “What are they frightened of?” Surely businesses with the availability of so much advisory support, who have so called “market power” must realise that the effects test is not there to stifle innovation or originality. It is there to ensure that big business leaders will need to be no more than good corporate citizens. They will need to abide by the law and recognise that they will still be able to engage in new, healthy competitive processes and that basically, by following those processes, there is nothing to fear, either from the law and certainly not from the regulator. The ACCC, through Chairman Rod Sims, has been an avid supporter of the Harper Review Panel findings and has consistently pointed out the advantages for our economy of the proposed amendments. He has attempted to explain ‘ad nauseam’ the reasons why the proposed legislative changes are justified, but that all seems to fall on deaf ears. Mr Sims has repeatedly come out to comment on some of the unfounded untruths and claims made by big business. He has even gone so far as to state that Coles CEO, John Durkan, is misinformed if he believes that the company will be prevented from engaging in making contracts that will benefit the business and the economy. There is no point in revisiting all the reasons why the current law should be changed – that has been done repeatedly over the period since the publication of the Harper Review. However, there can be no doubt if we did revisit all the reasoning that has gone into reaching the conclusion to change the law that, as Mr. Sims has recently stated, the current section 46 is “unworkable.” How many times can the ACCC go on explaining that the need for changes to section 46 of the CCA did not just emerge from the

May 2016 - Edition 3

Industry News

Harper Review? There has been a desperate need for change for years. There are numerous court precedents that show dissenting judgements by eminent judges who recognised the inadequacies of our competition laws. There is a litany of reviews held over the last decade that have recommended changes to section 46, but were never implemented. Many prominent academics around Australia have also supported the proposals to change the law along the lines that the Harper Review has now been finally recommended. The need to change the law is founded on the basis of sound economic policy and the benefits that will ensue for Australia, they are changes that have already worked successfully internationally. So it’s not as if we are testing new ground, new laws will simply bring Australia into line with the rest of the world. How many times do we need to explain that the business world, as we know it, will not come to an end? On the contrary with the right approach to the legislative changes Australia can only go forward. Surely it is time for big businesses to wake up, move on and work with the legal processes and not try to exert any more corporate muscle to try to spread fear and trepidation. Isn’t it time for the histrionics to be halted? Isn’t it time all this rhetoric was put into perspective?

Phil Ibbotson and the team at I+M have looked after a wide range of independent retailers around Australia for over 30 years. This puts them in a unique position to help you with all your business needs.

Australia is not facing economic disaster. On the contrary Australia is facing a great opportunity for every business to participate in economic development that enables every business, large and small, to participate in a new competitive environment.

Meaningful business advice - Friendly reliable and understandable

For years big business has bulldozed its way forward with little or no consideration for smaller businesses. Is there any hardship now in new laws requiring big businesses, when making business decisions, to consider any potential damage that could adversely affect their smaller rivals? The short answer is,”No.”

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It does not amount to big business being intimidated by new laws, but rather following the law, while continuing to exercise their enthusiasm for innovation if they so desire . The Federal Coalition Government should be applauded for having the strength and conviction to do what is right, and that is to introduce this reform which will allow our economy to grow and prosper in a fair robustly competitive environment. So we urge big businesses to take a more mature approach and not try to bully their way through what they see as a danger to their businesses, but accept change as a challenge for them to continuing being competitive and innovative on a level playing field.

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Industry News

Letter to the Prime Minister – 18th April 2016 re: Excise tax on tobacco products Dear Prime Minister, on behalf of the members of MGA I am writing to you regarding their concerns in relation to the possibility of an additional excise tax on tobacco products.

Tobacco has been a steady source of Government revenue for decades, with excise increases on this commodity being made on a regular basis.

MGA is a national employer industry association representing independent grocery, liquor and other retail outlets including hardware, in all States and Territories. These businesses range in size from small, to medium and large, and make a significant contribution to the retail industry, accounting for approximately $15 billion in retail sales.

Over the last decade there has been a steady increase in the excise on a cigarette (or stick) not exceeding in weight 0.8 grams actual tobacco content from $0.22915 in 2006 to $0.53733 in March 2016, with a further excise increase to occur in September 2016.

There are 2,700 branded independent grocery stores, trading under brand names such as: Farmer Jacks (WA) Foodland (SA), FoodWorks, Friendly Grocers, IGA, IGA Xpress, Supa IGA, SPAR and Supabarn, with a further 1,300 independent supermarkets (approximately) trading under their own local brand names. In addition, there are numerous independent liquor stores operating throughout Australia and trading under names such as: Cellarbrations, The Bottle O, Bottlemart and Local Liquor that are either single or multi-store owners. These stores, which collectively employ more than 115,000 staff, are comparatively much smaller when juxtaposed against the large supermarket chains of Coles and Woolworths which combined represent approximately 80 per cent of the retail supermarket industry. All MGA Independent Retailers members stock tobacco products and whilst they appreciate that the Australian Government must consider various revenue raising options in order to improve the country’s economy we urge the Government, on behalf of our members, not to introduce further excise tax increases on tobacco products. Serious consideration should be given to the consequences that will impact our independent retailer businesses generally, and the community as a whole, if the Government decides to impose excise taxes yet again on cigarettes.

The cost of cigarettes to the consumer through the imposition of higher excise taxes is pressing heavily on many aspects of our employers’ businesses. There has been evidence of intensified criminality associated with the cost of cigarettes as the higher pricetag has intensified over the years, and particularly in recent times. As the price of cigarettes has escalated our members have been subjected to increased break-ins in their stores, staff have been threatened and sometimes assaulted by groups of thieves, and many members have been forced to build vaults to store cigarettes. The illicit tobacco trade has grown exponentially taking the illegal trade in cigarettes from the status of petty crime to the level of more serious organised crime. Not only is the criminal aspect of expensive cigarettes a burden for our society but the social issues that are associated with these inflated prices are proving disastrous. The increased cost tends to hurt lower socio economic sectors of our community. Many, who can least afford to purchase expensive cigarettes and who are unable to avail themselves of habit breaking tools, turn to buying lower priced foods or junk food for themselves or their families leading to increased health problems. Trying to put the ability to purchase cigarettes out of the reach of smokers by utilising the tax system is simply increasing the health burden on the community. MGA appreciates that the Government is seeking to implement programmes that will stimulate our economy but we urge the Government to seek other ways in which to raise the revenue that our country needs, rather than increase the excise tax on tobacco products for the reasons referred to above. In anticipation of your attention to our request we trust that you will give serious consideration to the issues raised by our members. We thank you for your consideration. CC: Treasurer – Hon Scott Morrison and Minister for Small Business & Assistant Treasurer, Hon Kelly O’Dwyer

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Industry News

CCTV can save retailer thousands of dollars in theft and shrinkage It is an unfortunate fact of doing business that every category of the retail industry loses billions of dollars each year due to shoplifting and other forms of theft. However, for a variety of reasons the typical grocery store is especially vulnerable to retail theft. That is why grocery stores in particular need to take full advantage of the wide array of theft reduction technology available such as video surveillance. So what can a retailer do to reduce the shrinkage and theft in their stores? The answer is simple, intelligent CCTV technologies, can help curb shoplifting by staff and customers such as: • Employee theft – even the most extensive pre-employment screening can’t weed out every potential thief. Catch insider thieves and stop them before the losses mount by using intelligence video surveillance technology. • Sweethearting – sometimes the problem isn’t the employee stealing directly, but instead using their insider status to make theft opportunities available to others like friends and family. But they can’t keep up the scam for long if you have captured it all on video. • Organised retail crime – it isn’t just dishonest employees and customers that threaten your grocery store, there are also

May 2016 - Edition 3

professional rip-off artists out there who steal for a living. They are good at what they do, but even they can’t hide for long from your video surveillance equipment. • Shoplifting – Australian Retailers Association, estimates that shop theft puts an increasable dent of three per cent or about $7 billion in local retail each year, and many of those thefts occur in grocery stores. That is because the sale of most grocery products require “off the shelf” displays that make them more vulnerable to theft. Video surveillance is an affordable way to get control of the problem, and unlike the use of store detectives, cameras can see everything, everywhere, all the time. Video surveillance technology can protect a grocery store 24 hours a day, as it comes with day/night functionality and can operate anywhere, both in and outdoors. If you consider the insurance discounts, safety enhancements, reductions in theft and vandalism and the general improvement in your retail environment that video surveillance allows, then it only makes sense to explore what video surveillance can do for a grocery store.

Industry News

Energy savings with Keemin Energy Solutions The three secrets to saving money on your energy bills; 1. Use less 2. Waste less 3. Create your own

There are many options out there that enable retailers to reduce what they are spending on energy. One of the big ticket items is lighting. LED lighting has come a long way and there are now more options than ever before. Lighting change overs offer the chance to create government certificates which greatly offset the cost and give this option a very good return on investment.

This may sound very simplistic but these are the fundamental principles behind saving your business a lot of money. Of course, in order to ‘use less’ and ‘waste less” you need to know how much you are actually using and where you are potentially ‘wasting’ energy.

Fridges, freezers and display cases provide many avenues for savings. These include installing LEDs that do not emit anywhere near the heat of conventional lighting, variable speed fans, timers and night blinds are just some of the simple options. These all provide good return on investment and short payback periods.

Ask yourself these questions; • Do you currently monitor how much energy your business uses? • Do you investigate any significant changes and seek out the cause/s? • Do you understand the type of tariff structure your business is on? • Do you have the best energy provider and tariff structure you could have? • Have you had your energy usage assessed by a professional?

Create your own – in combination with a solar power and solar hot water offer, great savings can be made now and into the future. The key is to know which combination of solutions is going to yield your business the best return possible. No two businesses are the same.

At Keemin Energy Solutions we pride ourselves on being able to offer you the best holistic solution that we facilitate from beginning to end. Together we can assess your usage patterns, make recommendations, negotiate tariff changes, carry out works and create all government certificates without the need to involve any third parties along the way. Call us today for your free assessment 03 5368 2001.

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$p7er0w.00 eek Accuracy, speed and ease of use are the three most critical things when it comes to your point of sale (POS) solution.WorldSmart provides you with tools that allow you to manage your POS, stock and suppliers in the most efficient and cost effective manner. We understand that as a convenience store owner your challenge is to compete with the big end of town, but still keep your overheads low. This is why we have designed a complete end to end solution that is affordable, easy to use and feature packed to enable you to focus on the core of your business, ultimately saving you time and money. Our solution will provide you with the tools for running nearly every aspect of your business, all in an easy-to-use, intuitive, hardware and software solution. To find out more contact your state representative

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May 2016 - Edition 3

Industry News

Are you meeting your tax and super obligations? MGA members please be advised, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is focusing their attention on employer obligations in the supermarket industry. The ATO has identified that supermarkets are one of several industries at greater risk than other industries of not complying with the following obligations: - Superannuation - Pay as you go (PAYG) withholding, and - Fringe benefits tax (FBT) With audits due to take place from 1 July 2016, MGA members are encouraged to call MGA or take advantage of the information and support available on the ATO website to avoid significant penalties. Superannuation obligations The ATO has outlined following key points to help you keep track of your super obligations: • Super is money you pay for your workers to provide for their retirement • Generally, if you pay an employee $450 or more before tax in a calendar month, you have to pay super on top of their wages • The Superannuation Guarantee (SG) is currently 9.5% of an employee’s ordinary time earnings

Innovation is a key driver of business success. It’s typically defined by a firm’s knowledge of the market and customers, constant process reviews, learning from failures and passion and drive.

• You must pay SG at least four times per year, by the quarterly due dates • You pay into a complying super fund. Most employees are eligible to choose which fund you pay their SG into • If you don’t pay the SG on time, you may have to pay the super guarantee charge If you’re paying 9.5% of your eligible employees’ ordinary earnings into a super fund by the quarterly due dates, you’re pretty much on track. It’s also a good idea to check whether you need to pay super for contractors (which is sometimes the case) and make sure you keep records of all of your super transactions. Fringe benefits tax (FBT) obligations FBT is a tax employers pay on certain benefits they provide to their employees, including their employees’ family or other associates. The benefit may be in addition to, or part of their salary or wages package. If you are a director of a company or trust, benefits you receive may be subject to FBT. For more information visit: http://mga.asn.au/news-ma/tax-and-super-obligations

In NAB’s Survey of Business Innovation in Australia, we asked how business views innovation, both in Australia and within their own business. Some of the key findings are below: • Australian business does not believe that we are a highly innovative nation. Just 13% of all firms rate Australia as “highly innovative” (and only 6% of very large firms). • But, there is no shortage of firms (more than 1 in 4) across all sizes of business that identify themselves as “highly innovative”. • Highly innovative firms can be found across all sectors of the economy – including some more “mature” industries such as Manufacturing and Retail (and in both very big and small firms). • This raises the possibility that business may be underestimating the true level of innovation in Australia. To view the survey, please visit: http://business.nab.com.au/nab-special-report-a-survey-ofbusiness-innovation-in-australia-key-findings-13090/

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Same great wine, new red label May 2016 - Edition 3

Industry News - Liquor

Liquor News Wine pioneering ‘champions’ applauded by industry The outstanding achievements of three icons of the Australian wine industry have been honoured at a special awards presentation held in Adelaide. Each of the icons of wine is a household name and their efforts in the nation’s vineyards, wineries and boardrooms have helped create a vibrant modern industry and brought Australian wines to the attention of consumers around the world. Glasses were raised high to congratulate John Angove AM (Angaston), Colin Campbell (Rutherglen) and Wolf Blass AM (Adelaide). “John, Colin and Wolf have been named Life Members of the

Australian Wine Industry, an award proudly administered by the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia and presented at the home of another wine icon, Grange Hermitage here at TWE’s Magill Estate,” said Federation President Tony D’Aloisio AM. “This coveted Life Member Award recognises outstanding leadership and contribution to the nation’s wine industry over and above an individual’s career achievements,” he said. “In the case of John, Colin and Wolf – they have given in spades!” Philip Laffer AM was the inaugural recipient of this award and was inducted in 2014.

Wolf Blass

Colin Campbell

Tony D’Aloisio & John Angove

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Industry News - Liquor

Michael and Tina Reddrop with family

Norm and Margot Reddrop

From father to son: Reddrops family business continues to strengthen After many years as a retail consultant for Foodland, in 1973 Norm Reddrop purchased his first Four Square’ supermarket in Alexandra, Victoria. Twenty five years later his son, Michael Reddrop, returning home after working in the USA with his wife Tina, purchased the family business. Over that time Michael has grown the business to eight licensed supermarkets, six trading under the Foodworks banner and two trading as the Prahran Grocer and Windsor Grocer. Michael after purchasing the family business what was your vision for the group? In the mid-90s, after nearly 25 years in retail, my parents were looking to retire. I was living in the US and deciding whether I would make my life there or return home to Australia. With a ‘little bit’ of vendor financing, my then fiancé, now wife, Tina and I bought the business in Alexandra from my parents. After acquiring the FoodWorks in Alexandra, Tina and I immediately saw opportunities to grow the business, most notably by extending the trading hours, especially on weekends and in the evenings. Being in a country location, the tradition of closing before 6 pm at night and closing on the weekends needed to change. This all seems pretty straight forward now, but back in the 90s, country towns were

May 2016 - Edition 3

still in a mode of work during the week, sports on Saturday, and rest/church/family on Sunday. Customers responded immediately and now Saturdays are busier than most week days. We also saw the need for some technology and physical store changes, as well as the need for range expansion in order to improve and enhance the customer shopping experience. We set about modernising the store. Having said this, my parents had grown the store from a small 220 square metre rented shop into a 1500sqm site at the other end of the main street during their time. With corporate backgrounds, where you are taught (and reinforced) that standing still is going backwards; we started looking at other opportunities in our geographic area. Country people’s views were changing and like in the cities, wanted seven day access to their supermarket. A store in Mansfield came up for sale, so we decided to try things ourselves. We have since acquired, or built, a further five stores in North East Victoria, and usually have extended their trading hours, refurbished, upgraded technology and looked to range what the customers wanted. Your time in the industry to date and what drew you to be involved? From the age of six, I have been around the industry. On school holidays, from as young as seven or eight, I would work in the store. Mum and Dad were both at work, so rather than find someone to look after me, it was probably cheaper to be put to work and be looked after at the store. You can’t help but get retail in your blood under these circumstances.

Industry News - Liquor

Norm Reddrop

Spending approximately 10 years living overseas, and observing retail in numerous countries, did also inspire me to come home and ‘have a crack’ myself. In a way, I feel I have been in the industry more than 40 years, despite my ‘tender age’. Well not so tender anymore! I have been directly involved now for the past 18 years. One thing that does inspire me is ‘seeing and hearing satisfied customers’. You certainly have to remain passionate about the business, which gets challenged from time to time. How do you see the independent liquor retailer sector, its strengths, and weaknesses and how do you see it evolving in the future? I think that the independent sector has been beaten around, in Victoria at least, since the removal of the eight percent cap on licences more than a decade ago. This was always going to be the outcome though. Those who responded have survived, but many have not. You have to keep reinvesting in the business. In my mind, independent retailers’ weaknesses are that we remain somewhat disaggregated and can lack consistency in the quality of the offer at store level. Conversely, our strength is that we are often better able to meet the specific needs of our customers. When it comes to ranging, we are not dictated by a national ranging policy or the directions of senior management who are set policy for stores, sometimes across the whole country. The adage of ‘survival of the fittest’ comes to mind here. You do need to keep evolving. The future is a challenge. All around the world, without intervention, the independent retailer feels under

Tina and Michael Reddrop

threat from the bigger players. They have better access to capital markets, are less emotional in their decision making and act with better discipline. Retailers that are passionate, engaged, and motivated can engage well with their customers and be well placed to provide a compelling offer to their local demographic. Wholesale supply also has its issues. The proliferation of one particular dominant retailer has created an impossible playing field. The pricing of this retailer is so sharp that it has also become a competitor with the one major warehouse we independents draw from. The situation asks one question ‘how is this able to happen’ What is your view on the impact of online shopping on our sector, especially with most wineries having an online presence and encouraging direct online sales? The rise of the supermarket/self-serve liquor store came about because it was more efficient for the customer to shop for themselves rather than have someone across the counter pick the products for them. Now we have a channel whereby the customer is asking for much of that service of the first half of the twentieth century, and home delivery at a price that is not that much different to fully self-service in the retail outlet. I think that many of us current retailers take on this channel simply to remain relevant and competitive regardless of whether it provides for new sales. Regarding wine, there are no longer boundaries on where you can buy from. Online, also means that many operators can exist with a very low need for capital (versus bricks and mortar retailers). It also means that retailers are now competing with their suppliers in many cases. This can provide conflict of course, and confusion. I

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Industry News - Liquor

still hold the view however that many people still want to ‘hunt’ for their food, and that there is a therapy in browsing for their needs. Fortunately, not everyone wants to only buy online and there are normally minimum order quantities to make this not worthwhile for the customer. Some people don’t want to buy their alcohol in such volumes. However, the number of choices of outlets has grown exponentially via the internet. We have commenced an online presence in the past year or so. It certainly requires a lot of attention on our part and does not necessarily grow your business that greatly but we believe it is necessary to stay contemporary. The main frustration here is that there is not necessarily a level playing field. The requirements of a ‘bricks and mortar’ retailer can be more restrictive than those selling online. Price clarity and comparison also requires the retailer needs to make sure that they are price competitive. These days, from a smart phone, you can price compare numerous outlets and channels in seconds, regardless of whether that information can sometimes being a little misleading. What are your views on Government changes to liquor licensing and their impact on our sector? This has been a rollercoaster ride for us. There have been many changes over my time in the business. This is one thing that won’t change. I guess that there is the pressure of lobby groups that see alcohol blamed for certain social issues. I do get annoyed when government needs to be seen to make changes, without necessarily thinking through the consequences that they will create. I mentioned previously the lack of a level playing field, depending on the timing of when your licence was issued, what the concerns of the day were that are being played out in the media, and the type of outlet that you operate. As independent retailers, we don’t have a great voice and are deemed to have a vested interest in the outcome, so our opinion is further marginalised. How do you view the relentless pressure by health lobby groups on Government to have more restrictions on alcohol, labelling, availability, and advertising? I do find some of this frustrating. However there is some correlation between the behaviours of advertisers and consumption. I think that the excessive use of alcohol is a social issue, and is about the behaviour of individuals. I believe that the vast majority of people act responsibly around alcohol, and they are often punished for the actions of a few. My view is that making alcohol more expensive will impact only a few, take money away from other family needs, and move the social issues elsewhere. However, I cannot be completely objective as our business is the sale of alcohol. I would argue though that almost all of our sales are to people who use alcohol in a socially responsible way. We have operated in hospitality as well over the years. My observations are that there is a small group of people who cannot

May 2016 - Edition 3

The team at Prahran Grocer

act appropriately when they drink alcohol. I would like to say that they need to understand their weakness and not put themselves in a situation where this is the case. As an operator, I do get annoyed when the behaviour of a citizen who has violent or has other unsocial tendencies is deemed to be my responsibility. I appreciate that we as liquor retailers facilitate the purchase of alcohol. But like most areas of society, is it the car dealer who is responsible for the accident on the roads? To me, education and mentoring are the most important factors in the use and unfortunate abuse of alcohol. This topic can be a can of worms so I am reluctant to go much further, if I have not already! How has deregulation of Liquor Licensing in Victoria impacted the market? It has not been good for the independent liquor retailer, but that is no secret. The removal of the 8% cap on liquor licences a decade or so ago certainly intensified competition and benefited the larger operators. The corporate model is very disciplined and consistent. It is their strength for sure. Therefore, they have responded strongly to the independents detriment. At times, we independents are our own worst enemy but that is the nature of how we operate. We all have different preferences for what is important to us: priorities, expectations, investment horizons and aspirations are so varied among independents, like any citizens. The corporate model, on the other hand is simply to maximise the return on investors’ funds. And they are usually looking over the executive’s shoulder making sure that this is achieved. It is a hard model to compete against. However, that model can lack flexibility, creativity and mobility. I do walk in to some of the corporate liquor outlet formats and am astounded by the lack of creativity, and the boring and limited range of product offerings. I don’t believe that the customer is really being respected in this circumstance. The opportunity for us independents is to differentiate and provide customers with more refreshing and interesting retail offers.

Industry News - Liquor

I T ’S N O T M A N U FAC T U R E D, I T ’S C R A F T E D

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Industry News - Liquor

Cabernet Sauvignon brings out the tang in Thai beef salad

Sauvignon Blanc brings out the zing in tacos

Shiraz brings out the sizzle in steak

Chardonnay brings out the juiciness of roast chicken

Pinot Noir brings out the pizzazz in pizza

For more information, please contact your TWE representative or call 134 893. May 2016 - Edition 3

Industry News - Liquor

TWE educates shoppers to bring wine to the table in May and June According to research by Treasury Wine Estates (TWE), the wine category could grow by more than $150 million if shoppers who currently buy wine to accompany their everyday meals (on average fortnightly), purchased – just one more time every quarter*.

Treasure Hunter, Matua, Wolf Blass Gold Label, Wolf Blass Yellow Label, Seppelt Chalambar, Secret Stone, Pepperjack, Wynns and Devils Lair – labels that shoppers recognise and have confidence in.

The average wine shopper purchases wine 2.2 times per month, whereas those that purchase wine to accompany an everyday meal purchase 2.7 times over the same period, and often in conjunction with a supermarket shopping trip*.

Shoppers will be incentivised with prizes to add a glass of wine to their daily meal to increase their purchase frequency and basket size with a $30 spend. An online entry mechanic directs shoppers to the microsite www.bringmore.com.au where the category story is reinforced and shoppers can reconnect with the messages seen in store.

Grocery purchasing is becoming more frequent every year, with shoppers “topping up” throughout the week more regularly than they have in the past. This more frequent behaviour presents a great opportunity to influence the addition of wine to the shopping trip.

Prizes on offer include $30,000 worth of tableware from Maxwell & Williams, plus a major prize of $10,000 (visa card) to spend on groceries and wine, branded with the campaign creative to drive repurchase in store.

Which is why in May and June TWE’s ‘Bring More to the Table’ campaign will educate shoppers both in store and online on the art of food and wine matching; removing perplexity associated with choosing wine. Targeting shoppers while they make their prepurchase decisions, the campaign offers suggestions for pairing a range of Australian ”everyday meals” with popular wine varieties from trusted wines from the TWE portfolio including Rosemount Diamond Label, Rosemount 7 Trick pony, Squealing Pig, Fifth Leg

‘Bring More to the Table’ is estimated to be activated nationally in 1,400 stores throughout May and June. It will have an online presence through social media and participating customer websites. The category, ‘Bring More to the Table’ will also be seen in key on premise venues, driving food and wine matching for out of home occasions. To find out how to ‘Bring More to the Table’ in your store, contact your TWE representative or call 134 893. *ShopperTracker study 2015.

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Visit us at www.mga.asn.au/training or free call 1800 888 479 www.mga.asn.au

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Industry News - Liquor

Around the World The World's 10 strongest liquor brands The recession may be over, but it has certainly left a mark on the drinks industry. During the period, the biggest alcoholic brands found their market dominance increasingly challenged by newer, cheaper brands, according to the findings of brand consulting firm Intangible Business.

2015’s 100 most powerful spirits and wine brands.

The company collected 200 experts on the drinks industry and researched nearly 10,000 brands in the spirits and wine sectors to come up with a list of

So what did they find? Despite the market share gains made by smaller brands, they still haven’t cracked the top of the industry...

The ranking is based on market share, brand growth, price, market scope, brand awareness, relevance, heritage and perception.

The top brands remain large ones: 1. Johnnie Walker (Diageo) 2. Smirnoff Vodka (Diageo) 3. Bacardi Rum (Bacardi) 4. Jack Daniels (Brown-Forman) 5. Hennessey Cognac (Moet Hennessey) 6. Captain Morgan Rum (Diageo) 7. Absolut Vodka (Pernod Ricard) 8. Martini Vermouth (Martini & Rossi) 9. Chivas Regal (Pernod Ricard) 10. Jägermeister (Brown-Forman)

Under cover, minors buy alcohol at many stores in New York City

Pakistan illegal alcohol leaves 24 dead from poisoning

Under-age decoy buyers were able to purchase alcohol at more than half of the hundreds of pharmacies, grocery stores and liquor stores in New York City that the State Liquor Authority targeted in an undercover investigation last year, officials said on Sunday.

and to make sure employees are trained to avoid selling to people younger than 21. The department has also translated the Liquor Authority’s handbook for stores into Arabic and Chinese, the most requested languages.

At least 24 people in southern Pakistan have died from poisoning after drinking illegallymade alcohol, police say.

The department said it would sponsor training for stores in the next few months that would help with things like recognizing fake identification.

Many people illegally brew alcohol at home, and there

As part of the investigation, the buyers went to 911 stores across the city between April and September, about 10 percent of the city stores that have liquor licenses. They were able to get alcohol at 58 percent of the businesses, the city’s health department said. The health commissioner, Dr. Mary T. Bassett, said the department would take steps to reduce under-age alcohol consumption. A letter was to be sent on Monday to all stores that sell alcohol reminding them to check identification

A store that sells alcohol to a minor faces penalties of $2,500 for a first-time offense, and up to $10,000 for repeat violations as well as license suspensions or revocations. The investigation found that stores that had recent violations were less likely to sell to minors. The Liquor Authority’s investigation was paid for by a grant from the health department.

A number of others are in hospital after Monday's incident in Sindh province.

have been several cases of mass poisonings in the past – in 2014 some 40 people died within a few days as a result of drinking tainted alcohol in Sindh. Distilling alcohol safely requires precise conditions to ensure methanol, or methyl alcohol, is separated from the drink.

Crown Royal's 'best whisky in the world' sells out in minutes at B.C. Liquor Store It took all of 27 minutes for 330 bottles of the highly soughtafter Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye whisky to sell out. The Crown Royal 'masterpiece' has been sold out in B.C. liquor stores for some time now. But the world's top whisky resurfaced for the grand opening of the Burnaby B.C.

Liquor Store event on Friday morning. There was a limit of two bottles per person. When the store manager saw how long the lineup was, he handed out 150 tickets to those waiting in line to guarantee they would get their hands on the bottle. Others weren't so lucky.

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Legal and HR

Legal and HR Ten questions and answers on the General Retail Industry Award (GRA) Under the General Retail Industry Award (GRA): Q 1. When do I have to pay a higher duties rate? A. If an employee is engaged for more than 2 hours performing duties that carry a higher hourly rate then they are paid the higher rate for the entire shift. If engaged for less than 2 hours they are only paid the higher rate for the time worked only. Q 2. Can I employ a butcher under the GRA? What is the wage rate? A. Yes, you can employ a butcher under the GRA if your butchers work on the store premises. You need to pay at least a Level 4 rate to qualified butchers and percentage rates apply to apprentices. Q 3 Does a part-time employee have to have a contract if employed under the GRA? A. Yes. All part-time employees require a written contract that specifies the hours of work, working days of the week, start and finish times, variations in writing, minimum daily engagement, times and duration of meal breaks.

Q 4. Do I have to pay casuals overtime? A. No. A casual employee may work outside ordinary hours and in excess of eight hours, although this is not recommended. However, there is no entitlement to overtime payments for a casual. Q 5. What is the maximum number of hours I can employee an employee on one day? A. An employee may be rostered to work up to a maximum of nine hours on any day, but may be rostered for work on one day per week for 11 hours. Q 6. What is the minimum rest period between completing work on one day and starting again next day? A. Once an employee has completed a shift he/she must have a rest break of at least 12 hours. If the rest break is less than 12 hours the employee will be entitled to double time rates until being released from duty to take a 12 hour break. Q 7 Does a 20 year old automatically get paid the adult rate? A. A new employee who is 20 years will receive 90% of the adult rate for the first 6 months and then get paid the adult rate. If an employee who has been you working in your business for more than 6 months and turns 20, they will automatically receive the adult rate. Q 8. If a full-time employee starts work at 6.00 am. do they receive a penalty? A. Yes. If a full-time employee commences work outside ordinary hours (which under the GRA start at 7.00 am) then the employee is entitled to a penalty rate of time and a half for that hour. Q. 9 Does the employer have to pay leave loading when a fulltime or part-time employee resigns? A. Yes. At one stage the employer was not required to pay leave loading on resignation. But approximately three years ago the Fair Work Ombudsman sought an opinion on this issue. The conclusion was that an employee should be entitled to the same advantage that they would have received had they taken annual leave during their employment. Therefore, there was no reason why they should not receive that same benefit on leaving the employment.

Embrace the Season

To discover the full Windy Peak range, go to: debortoli.com.au For more information contact your De Bortoli representative.

May 2016 - Edition 3

Q 10. If a school student starts a shift at 6.00 p.m. on a school day can the employer employ him/her for 1.5 hours? A. No. A school student can only be employed for one and a half hours between 3.00 pm and 6.30 pm. If the shift does not commence within the time frame that allows the shift to be completed within that time, then he/she must be employed for the maximum period of three hours.

Legal and HR

Calculating overtime in the Retail Award Both full time and part time employees (permanent employees) can receive overtime in varying situations when employed under the General Retail Industry Award (GRA). In its simplest terms, full time employees receive overtime once they work more than 38 hours, while part time employees are entitled to overtime once they work more than their agreed fixed number of hours per week. Overtime accumulates on a daily basis and is paid at the rate of time and a half for the first 3 hours and double time after that. However, there are several other elements to overtime which can make its application quite complex. For example, any work performed outside of a store’s ordinary hours is overtime. Ordinary hours for a store are: Days Spread of hours Monday to Friday, inclusive 7.00 am–9.00 pm Saturday 7.00 am–6.00 pm Sunday 9.00 am–6.00 pm In the case of retailers whose trading hours extends beyond 9.00 pm Monday to Friday or 6.00 pm on Saturday or Sunday, the finishing time for ordinary hours on all days of the week will be 11.00 pm. Therefore, if for example, a permanent employee commences their shift at 6 am on a Monday, they will receive one hour over overtime at the rate of time and a half. If they commence work at 6am from Monday to Friday they will receive one hour of overtime on each day at the rate of time and a half (as overtime is calculated on a daily rate). Overtime can also occur when an employee works too many hours in a day. The GRA states that ‘an employee may be rostered to work up to a maximum of nine ordinary hours on any day, provided that

for one day per week an employee can be rostered for 11 hours. Therefore, if for example, a full time employee works 11 hours on Monday there will be no overtime, but if they also work 11 hours on Tuesday the employee will receive 2 hours of overtime. If the same full time employee subsequently works 45 hours in the week their last 7 hours of their working week will be paid at the overtime rate. Another scenario where overtime may occur is where an employee is not given an adequate break between work periods. The GRA provides that all employees should be given a 12 hour rest period between the completion of work on one day and the commencement of work on the next day. Where an employee recommences work without having had 12 hours off work, then the employee will be paid at double time until such time as they are released from duty for a period of 12 consecutive hours. The period of 12 hours can only be reduced to 10 hours by agreement between an employer and an employee. Overtime is always calculated on the base rate of pay. Therefore the rate of pay for overtime is the same from Monday to Saturday, and on Sunday is simply double time for the full day. Employees therefore do not receive any additional benefit for working overtime on a Sunday.

Annual leave under the National Employment Standards An employee, who is not a shift worker, is entitled to four weeks paid annual leave each year and this is provided for in the National Employment Standards. Annual leave accrues progressively and commences to accumulate as from the beginning of the employment. Even if an employee works for you for only a short period of time that employee will have accumulated an entitlement to annual leave. When an employee takes annual leave they are paid at the base rate for the ordinary hours of work in that period.

Annual leave cannot be “cashed out” unless an award provides for cashing out and the General Retail Industry Award does not permit it. An employer’s own enterprise agreement may permit cashing out. Leave loading of 17.5% applies to annual leave which is payable when the employee takes leave and when the employee leaves the employment. Paid leave may be taken for a period agreed between the employer and employee. The employer can refuse leave

during peak trading times and this is generally explained at the commencement of employment. An employee may accumulate annual leave for a period up to 8 weeks or two years of employment. After this time the employer can insist that the employee reduce the accumulation of annual leave. If a public holiday occurs during an employee’s period of annual leave the employee is entitled to an additional days leave for the public holiday.

www.mga.asn.au

May 2016 - Edition 3

Legal and HR

Meet Nikola Prestia – MGA’s newest addition to the Legal and HR Team Nikola joined the MGA Legal and HR Services team in April 2016. She is a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria and the High Court of Australia. Prior to joining MGA, Nikola worked in a commercial law firm in Melbourne for nearly two years practising in a variety of areas including commercial litigation, intellectual property, workplace, corporate and commercial law. Nikola has volunteered for many legal organisations such as Victorian Legal Aid, the Mental Health Legal Centre and Victorian Family Law Pathways. She also has firsthand experience in the industry with over 8 years’ retail and customer service experience. Outside of the workplace Nikola enjoys spending time with her family and friends, adding to her vast shoe collection and testing out new restaurants!

Embracing technology to stay connected and work smarter is key to being competitive in the fast-changing world of small business. Dropbox for Business is a great tool that allows you to securely sync and store business data in the cloud to improve business productivity and collaboration.

As a member of the Legal and HR Services team, Nikola assists MGA members by providing them with advice on a broad range of employment law and HR matters including award interpretation, anti-discrimination, wage enquiries, dismissals, and management of employees’ performance and conduct issues. To contact Nikola or any member of the MGA Legal and HR Services Team please call 1800 888 479 option 1.

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Training

Training Safe Work Instructions (SWI) What is a safe work instruction? SWI’s are a set of written instructions that identify the health and safety issues that may arise from use of the machinery and equipment or be based on a task or process. The Safe Work Instructions do not replace the need for proper training. They may be used to supplement or guide the training process and provide reminders for staff on the correct operating and procedures for tasks throughout the business. SWI’s assist in emphasising the importance of correct procedures to reduce any risk of harm to employees and the general public. Here at MGA we have developed SWI’s for use in stores to assist with training in a variety of areas. Some that are available at the moment are: • Manual handling • Ladder safety • Using a pallet jack • Moving pallets manually • Carton cutter safety • Emergency management/evacuations • Medical emergencies • Deli slicer • Bain marie • Rotisseries They are just some and we are developing more as time goes on. If you wish to discuss your Safe Work Instruction needs please contact MGA Training on 1800 888 479 (option 2).

Victoria Martin Sunbury FoodWorks Vicki joined the team at Sunbury FoodWorks in 2014 as the Delicatessen Manager. Undertaking the Certificate IV in Retail Management course has enabled her to further her knowledge in the retail sector. Coming from the financial sector previously has given Vicki extensive customer service within that field. Leaving there she was searching for a challenging role and what more challenging than the job of a Delicatessen Manager. Vicki put in a great effort to complete the course considering the hectic schedule that Vicki faces each week. Completing this course was a great step in getting a better insight on managing her department. Allowing her to fine tune her leadership skills, it has also allowed her to organise the staff to achieve the best proficiency from her team. Sheryl Casey Clunes IGA Sheryl works at the supermarket in a town called Clunes which is just north of Ballarat in Victoria. The owner, Diane Hill, has a great team that work at the store. Sheryl has been in her employ for nearly 11 years. The course was taken on by Sheryl to obtain a better understanding the role of a retail manager. Sheryl, in the past has done several courses to further learn and gain knowledge in the retail sector. Sheryl is very willing to take on any form of training that will assist in making the workplace a better place to work. The course has certainly aided in this as she was able to put in place policies and procedures that were identified as not been current or non-existent. Sheryl helps in managing the store when Diane is not present. Ashley Redman Clunes IGA Ashley also works at Clunes IGA alongside Sheryl. Ashley has also been with the store for 11 years. The Certificate IV in Retail Management has given him a better insight to the running of a retail store. Ashley has learnt valuable information in the area of Workplace Health and Safety. As a whole they were able to implement processes and procedures to make sure that all of the staff and the public are safe. The store has one of the best traffic management plans that I have seen and they make sure they follow it when need be.

May 2016 - Edition 3

Training

Improve health and safety within the workplace Even though most employers understand why it is important to maintain a safe working environment, there are still too many fatalities and injuries that occur every year in the workplace. Everyone suffers when there is an incident at work that results in an injury. It is vital that employers do everything they can do to prevent an incident from happening. In 2015 over 26,000 employees were seriously injured enough to receive compensation and 20 employees lost their lives in Victoria alone.

26,757

40K

16,500

Last year, there were 16,757 workplace injuries

WorkSafe conducted almost 40,000 inspections

And issued 16,500 improvement notices

Employers face a criminal conviction and significant fines if found guilty of breaching OHS laws

Employers can avoid such situations by some simple tasks they could complete to ensure the safety or their employees and the general public.

5. Check the Injury and Incident register for any issues that have occurred in the past and take action to ensure that they are avoided in the future.

Identify hazards in the workplace 1. Find anything within the workplace that can potentially cause harm or injury. 2. Consult with employees as it is a legal requirement to discuss workplace safety. Employees can give great insight and even solutions as they are the people that are using equipment and moving heavy objects. 3. Have team meetings and face to face discussions and encourage employee feedback and involvement. 4. When discussing the possible hazards with employees, look at each task within the workplace.

Assess the risks 1. Review the hazards within the workplace and decide what requires the most urgent attention. 2. Take a close look at each hazard and identify the possible outcomes if things go wrong. 3. Determine if there are some things that can be done now to fix an issue in the short term, while you work out a permanent solution. 4. Rank each of the hazards in order from highest to lowest risks. 5. Make sure potential new hazards are immediately identified.

Rectify the hazards 1. Once you have prioritised all of the hazards on the list then it is time to start to rectify the problems immediately. 2. The first aim is to remove the risk, such as a slipping or tripping hazard or find a alternative way to do a task. 3. If it is not possible to remove the risk then find way to control it. Such as changing the procedure or providing equipment to alleviate any potential harm or injury. 4. If you cannot come up with a solution then source outside help such as websites, consultants or your industry associations (MGA) for advice. 5 Speak to others in the industry to see if they have had same issues and how they dealt with the situation.

ONLINE BASIC FOOD SAFETY COURSE Recommended for all staff where there is a requirement for staff to have the skills and knowledge for the work they are doing in any fresh food area. Suitable for deli, produce, dairy and freezer staff as well as cafes, restaurants and coffee shops. It includes personal hygiene, cross contamination, receiving, storage and display of food, temperature and time control, cleaning and causes and prevention of food poisoning. It is excellent value at $25 per course and can be completed in under an hour. A certificate is generated on successful completion.

www.mga.asn.au

Training

National Online Training 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.

Responsible Service of Alcohol This course deals with the skills and knowledge required to satisfy the requirements for responsible service of alcohol under state/territory legislation. All persons involved in the serving and sale of alcohol must complete this.

*Log in to our website with your member login to order you courses at these member prices.

RSA – WA, QLD, SA, NT

Duration: 3 hours Member Price: $45

Basic Food Handling

Duration: 20-30 minutes Member Price: $25 Food Safety Supervisors

Duration: 4-8 hours Member Price: $105

Food Safety Supervisors – NSW

RSA – ACT

Duration: 3-4 hours Member Price: $45 RSA Refresher – ACT

Duration: 4-8 hours Member Price: $150

(must be completed every 3 years) Duration: 1-2 hours Member Price: $30

Food Safety Supervisors Refresher Course – NSW

RSA Face to Face – VIC

Duration: 2-4 hours Member Price: $100

Duration: 4 hours Member Price: $49 See our website for regional RSA courses

Monitor Food Safety Program

Duration: 2-4 hours Member Price: $105

Food Safety Supervisor & Monitor Food Safety Program

Duration: 6.5 hours Member Price: $180

May 2016 - Edition 3

Responsible Service of Alcohol Do you have 10 or more staff to train in RSA? Contact us to see if we can organise an instore course. *Available in MELB Metro and surrounds.

Training

Visit www.mga.asn.au to purchase our training courses

Health and Safety These courses aim to provide employees with information and instruction on their responsibilities and the responsibilities of management with regard to workplace health and safety.

Health & Safety Induction

Duration: 30 minutes Member Price: $25

Administer Workplace Health & Safety

Duration: 60 minutes Member Price: $40

Emergency Management

Duration: 60 minutes Member Price: $25

Updated online courses on the MGA website The system and courses have been designed to be user friendly and work on most devices, including desktops, tablets and mobile phones. As long as you’ve got internet access, you’ve got learning opportunities.

Food Safety

Food Safety supervisor course for all states except NSW: $105 Store Security

Duration: 30 minutes Member Price: $25 Manual Handling

Duration: 60 minutes Member Price: $25 Workplace Violence, Bullying & Harassment

Duration: 30 minutes Member Price: $25

Hazard Identification & Risk Management

Duration: 40 minutes Member Price: $40

Food Safety supervisor course for NSW: $150 *Food Safety supervisor refresher course for NSW: $100 *Food Safety supervisor refresher course is a new course developed for NSW. It contains the extra information on raw egg safety and allergens that the Food Authority now requires. You need to refresh NSW Food Safety Supervisor training every 5 years.

Responsible Service of Alcohol – Special introductory price

RSA Online for QLD, SA, WA, NT: $45

RSA Online for ACT: $45 *RSA Online Refresher course for ACT: $30 *The ACT RSA refresher course is to be completed every 3 years after your initial qualification. You must be able to supply evidence of your original RSA certificate to do this course. The online course can be completed in around 1 to 1.5 hours.

www.mga.asn.au

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Check these benefits out! - Competitive premiums - Excellent claims service - Full equipment breakdown cover - Personalised service and top shelf advice - Free â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Insurance Health Checkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Most retailers are under insured and therefore under risk. Protect your business and livelihood adequately by getting a quote today from one of our brokers in your local area. With over 300 stores currently insured, we understand what members want and we make it easy! We understand your risks and challenges, and will help create the policy you need so you can stay focused on your business.

For a FREE quote call 1300 402 756 Visit www.adroitig.com.au May 2016 - Edition 3

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