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Employers who engage employees under relevant Commonwealth workplace laws are required to make and keep accurate and complete records of all their employees.

Here are the main points:

Record-Keeping (Employers) Obligations

• Employee records are private and confidential
• No one can access those records except the employee, their employer and relevant payroll staff
• Copies of employee’s records must be available at the request of an employee or former employee
• Fair Work Inspectors may access employee records if required

Information to be made and kept (Records)

• General Records
  • Employer’s name
  • Employer’s ABN
  • Employee’s name
  • Employee’s commencement date
  • Employee’s employment basis
• Pay Records
  • Rate of pay paid
  • Gross and net amounts as well as any deductions
  • Details of any incentive-based payments
•  Hours of work records
  • Casual / Part-Time employee: records of hours worked
  • Any other type: overtime worked each day
  • Copy of agreed to an averaging of the employee’s work hours
•  Leave Records
  • Leave taken
  • Balance of the employee’s entitlements
  • Copy of the agreement to cash out any leave if applicable
  • Rate of payment made to cash out those leaves and date of the payment
•  Superannuation
  • Amount of the contributions made
  • Date of the contributions was made
  • Period related to the each contribution made
  • Name of the fund to which the contribution was made
• Termination
  • Circumstances of the termination (by consent, by notice, …/…)
  • Name of person who terminated the employment

Pay Slips Obligations

•  Delivery
  • Within one day of pay day
  • Electronic form or hard copy

Note that if the employers opt for issuing electronic pay slips they should not only store them on a database but give an electronic pay slips via email or such

•  Compulsory information on the pay slip
  • Pay slips must contain information such as: employer’s name, ABN, employee’s name, date of payment, pay period, gross and net amount, and hourly pay rate as well as number of hours worked
  • Any deductions if applicable

Contravention Applicable

Be aware that Fair Work Inspectors may issue an employer with an infringement notice from $510 per individual for failing to meet their record-keeping and pay slip obligations.