The ‘Fair Remuneration’ pillar of the Sustainable Dairying: Workplace Action Plan is one way of reducing this turnover and, equally importantly, reducing the weight and risk of non-compliance on your shoulders.
The Fair Remuneration pillar is the one that tackles getting employment compliance right onfarm, and it states:
The dairy industry aims to set wage and salary rates to attract, retain and reward talented people.
Competitive wage and salary rates are based on first meeting the legally required minimum standards:
- Minimum wages or above are paid for all hours worked
- Employment agreements are in place for all employees
- Records of hours worked and wages paid are kept
- Holidays and leave are recorded
- Remuneration packages can include non-cash benefits, which can contribute to socially constructive relationships
- Formal accommodation agreements are in place.
The plan doesn’t impose any new regulations on farmers. It clearly sets out the legal minimum standards, then says if you get these things right you are doing well as an employer – which is perfectly true and deserves to be recognised.
So what are some of the boxes you need to tick:
Employment agreements in place for all employees
Why?
- It’s legally required
- It helps the employee understand their job conditions
- It protects your business
- It reduces risks of employee disputes
- It can save you money in the future
- Peace of mind.
How?
- Federated Farmers have a long history of supplying employment agreements for dairy farmers
- Rural professionals specialising in HR and employment relationships can help with the process.
- Keep records of the hours worked by each employee on your farm
Why?
- It’s legally required
- It helps with workforce planning
- You can use timesheets to start becoming more efficient
- It protects your business
- It reduces risks of employee disputes
- It can save you money in the future
- Peace of mind.
How?
- Discuss with your team that you want to start keeping timesheets on farm for all employees so that you:
- can ensure hours worked are fair and reasonable
- can use the information to make farm improvements, eg to the roster, staff numbers.
- Find the best system for you – paper timesheets, farm diary, apps, spreadsheet, fingerprint etc
- Encourage employees to fill them in and if required update employment agreements to reflect the need to keep timesheets
- Make timesheets a normal part of everyone’s day onfarm.
Ensure you are paying minimum wage for all hours worked by your employees
Why?
- It’s legally required
- It helps keep employees motivated and productive
- It protects your business
- It reduces risks of employee disputes
- It can save you money in the future
- Peace of mind.
How?
- Divide the total salary each employee receives by 26 and then again by the number of hours worked in the fortnight. If the resulting number is less than $14.75 then you need to top your employee up to minimum wage. Only cash benefits can be included for the purposes of minimum wage, but if done correctly accommodation is a cash benefit.
Ensure you are recording all holidays and leave taken by your employees
Why?
- It’s legally required
- It means you don’t pay more for holidays than you should
- It protects your business
- It reduces risks of employee disputes
- It can save you money in the future
- Peace of mind.
How?
- Have a system for approving leave requests and write down when employees are actually on leave
- Ensure you pay correctly for public holidays and leave
- Keep all the relevant information in one place and every fortnight or pay period update it
- Consider a payroll system or app to make it easier, or outsource it to your accountant or HR professional.
- Getting this stuff right is doable and really does help with employee satisfaction and retention. You should then be able to spend less time on recruitment and enjoy the extra productivity that comes from employees who know your farming business and goals.
Become a friend
If this information about fair remuneration rings true for you, visit our website at www.dairynz.co.nz/WAP to find out more about the Sustainable Dairying: Workplace Action Plan. We also invite farmers to become friends of the plan which means you endorse the outcomes of the plan to improve our work environments and you undertake to pursue its direction to the best of your abilities and resources. Sign up is on-line at the website above and will help direct you to information and tools that will make a practical difference onfarm. Why not sign up now?
