VICDOC Autumn 2023 - Magazine - Page 74
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NOT TAKING A PROACTIVE
APPROACH TO RESOLVE
ISSUES EARLY OR SITTING ON
COMPLAINTS FOR TOO LONG
REACTING TOO QUICKLY
AND NOT MAKING
PROPER ENQUIRIES
FAILING TO UNDERSTAND
INDUSTRIAL AWARDS
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Moving too quickly when an
issue arises can sometimes
be as bad as not moving
quickly enough. Denial of
procedural fairness can
also be an excellent way
to end up in court or a
tribunal. When a complaint
is made, make careful
enquiries. What happened?
What is the context? Is the
employee given a proper
opportunity to tell their side
of the story? Acting too
quickly, and making a fast
decision, can result from
sitting on complaints for
too long. For example, there
may have been grumbling
about a staff member’s
behaviour for a long time,
but it has been too difficult
to do anything about it.
Then you get a moderately
serious complaint that you
can use as opportunity to
get rid of them, so you take
it. Denial of natural justice
greatly increases the risk
you will lose if a claim is
brought against you.
Practice support staff
and nurses are covered
by Awards under
Commonwealth legislation.
Awards are the law. They
set out minimum terms and
conditions that employees
are legally entitled to. A
common and simple failure
is not understanding what
your legal obligations are
as an employer. Another
failure is attempting to
avoid managing complex
entitlements by paying an
“over award” rate, intended
to compensate for all
award entitlements. The
consequences can be costly.
If the relationship sours, the
unhappy employee leaves
(or is dismissed), and seeks
legal advice about their
situation, where a competent
lawyer can often find they
have been underpaid.
Underpayment claims
routinely range between
$50,000 and $150,000.
Unpaid overtime is often
a major component of
the claim.
A good way to turn a
workplace issue molehill
into a mountain is to do
nothing and hope it goes
away. When issues such
as punctuality, efficiency,
honesty, courteous
behaviour to patients and
other staff or relationships
arise, it may be tempting
to hope they resolve
themselves. Formal
performance management
— periodic formal reviews,
counselling about belowpar performance, or
even issuing formal
warnings if necessary — is
uncomfortable, especially in
a small practice. However,
failure to intervene until a
problem has become acute
and serious exposes a
medical practice to the risk
of a claim in the Fair Work
Commission, a court,
or to a Workcover claim.
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AMA VI C TO RIA
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