The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has
 taken a step towards alleviating retailers’
concerns over the new industrial relations changes with the first online Employment Relations Management System (ERMS) fully compliant with the Fair Work Act and the Modern Retail Award.

ARA executive director Russell Zimmerman said the Fair Work ready ERMS will “provide clarity and boost the productivity” of the 83% of retailers who still need  to comply with their new employer obligations which came into play on January 1.

“Retailers are extremely busy people - often running the back-end of a business as well as working full-time on the shop floor. For the 65% of retailers with no in-house ER support, the process of updating all employment contracts, policies and procedures, takes valuable time away from them,” Zimmerman said.

“The ERMS streamlines time taken to manage employees and provides comprehensive support through a dedicated, confidential portal of information, tools and templates, giving retailers a peace of mind to concentrate on other important aspects of running a business,” he added.

The ERMS was developed by ARA Employment Relations service providers FCB Workplace Lawyers and Consultants and provides employers with:
 An employee lifecycle management system including hiring, performance management, disciplinary process and termination checklists
 Simple checklists, linking the relevant templates and required action for best practice
 Template contracts, letters and policies which are compliant with the new laws
 General Retail Award (modern award) information, with simple explanations to aid understanding, compliance, every-day rostering and employee management
 Retail and associated award wage information, including circulars and example calculations
 An ARA Employment Relations (ER) news library, including member ER Alerts
 Employee profiles for confidential storage of documents, record notes, reminders and email alerts

“No association, retail or other, provides a system of this sophistication in the marketplace and ERMS is completely compliant and up-to-date with new industrial relations laws, allowing retailers to get on with the job of running a small business,” according to Zimmerman.