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FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S DESK 
Since our last E-News things have been pretty hectic on many fronts. It is disappointing to report that the office has received an increased number of complaints from consumers.
In many cases we have been able to advise the consumer that the business they feel they have a grievance against has done the right thing, in other cases we have encouraged the consumer to go back to the business and discuss their concerns. Encouraging them to take the emotion out and build a logical and structured case invariably results in the size of their complaint becoming no more than a frustration to them because they didn’t understand what they were told.
The message I guess to you as members is to take the time to ensure that what you and or your staff are telling your customers is clearly understood. Many end users are afraid to ask questions for fear of being looked at like an idiot. Never take a customer for granted and assume he understands he is not always right but he is always the customer.
Businesses very easily slip into industry jargon, imagine how you feel when surrounded by foreign statements in an alien environment it is just the same for your customers.
We have been very active working with the Office of Regulatory Service (ORS) on new legislation to support the current voluntary repairer code. It has been a great insight into the land of legislation, the officers of ORS are really switched on and have an understanding if not a genuine empathy for the day to day vagaries of the whole of the automotive industry. A displayed willingness to learn on their part has resulted in a productive document being developed.
There has been considerable debate and comments from many fields over MTAA and MTA Super. I will not bore you with any great detail suffice to say that MTA ACT continues to function as it always has. We are here to provide a service to you the members. The hierarchy at the national level is charged with the politics, whilst ever they continue to deliver what we need to look after you the members, we see no reason to enter any debate.
As we head towards Easter it is appropriate to remind everyone to stay safe. Easter is traditionally a time when many travel for the last time before the winter hibernation.
Unfortunately it is a time of year when road accidents seem to escalate. We tend to measure the success or failure of a holiday period based on the number of deaths on our roads, this is a sad indictment on our society but the sadder fact is we never get to find out the statistics for those that didn’t die but will spend the rest of their lives in a wheel chair or similar.
Easter is a time for big kids and little kids I hope you all have the opportunity to enjoy your Easter but be sure to stay safe and don’t be the Bunnie on the road.
EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS UPDATE
MONITORING NEW EMPLOYEES
Performance reviews within the minimum employment period
The Fair Work Act provides that an employee is not entitled to make an application to Fair Work Australia claiming unfair dismissal if the employee has not completed the required minimum period of employment.
The Fair Work Act includes two different minimum periods depending upon the number of employees employed at a business. If the business employs less than 15 employees then the employee has to complete a minimum period of 12 months with the business before they can lodge an unfair dismissal. The Fair Work Act also provides that an employee employed at a business with 15 or more employees is required to work a minimum period of 6 months with the business before they are eligible to lodge an unfair dismissal claim.
Given a business has a minimum period of either 6 or 12 months (depending on their size) to assess an employee there is no reason for underperforming employees to work beyond the minimum period and therefore be eligible to lodge an unfair dismissal claim.
A new employee will not be familiar with how your business operates and ongoing communication between you and the new employee provides them with feedback and lets them know your expectations. This is the employee's opportunity to show you they are the right person for your business. It is a good idea to diarise these early discussions. They are not warnings but a record for your information when you come to making a decision about whether you want to continue on with the employment relationship past the minimum period.
If an employee is not meeting expectations and fails to respond to discussions or counselling during the minimum period you could provide them with a warning or terminate their employment with one week's notice. If you find that a formal warning is required during the minimum period of employment then you may wish to consider whether a longer term employment relationship is possible. If the employee is not performing at a satisfactory level within a reasonable period of time it may be preferable to bring the employment relationship to an end well before the end of the minimum period.
The key issue is to ensure that you review the employee's employment within the minimum period. It is advisable to keep a written record of when the minimum period ends and diarise a review at least a week before that date.
KEEPING RECORDS PROTECTS YOUR BUSINESS
Under the Fair Work Act and Regulations, employers must keep records that relate to the termination of employment of all casual, permanent part-time and full-time employees.
The termination of employment records must contain information on whether the employment was terminated by consent, by notice, summarily (without notice and with immediate effect) or in some other manner (for example, by the death of the employee). These records also must name the person who acted to terminate the employment. The termination of employment record may be a copy of a letter that confirms the termination of employment or a form specially designed for that purpose.
As employers also must notify employees of the reason for the termination of their employment, we recommend that members keep records of the reason for termination of employment given to employees.
In the case of termination of employment records, employers must keep a record for a period of seven years after the date on which the employee's employment is terminated.
Having accurate and readily accessible termination of employment records are vital evidence for employers in the event they need to defend themselves against a claim from an aggrieved employee.
CHANGES TO THE ACT's ROAD RULES 
The ACT Government will soon be introducing new nationally agreed road rules. A range of changes will include new rules regarding the mandatory use of child restraints for children under the age of 7 years.
The new road rules will commence on 15 March 2010, with the exception of the new child restraint rules, which will commence on 15 March 2011. During this period the existing road rules for child restraints will apply. The delayed commencement will allow time for people to purchase the appropriate child restraints and booster seats.
The new child restraint rules will help ensure that children are in the safest restraint or booster seat applicable for their age. Research has shown that many children are using adult seatbelts too early which has resulted in injuries.
For more information about all the road rule changes, please visit www.tams.act.gov.au/move/australianroadrules
PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO WORKPLACE BULLYING 
The ACT's Attorney-General, Mr Simon Corbell MLA, has launched a new suite of material from the Work Safety Commissioner, focusing on workplace bullying.
The material will assist employers seeking to prevent and/or respond to workplace bullying. It will also provide guidance for workers who feel they have been subjected to workplace bullying. Two new training programs to be provided by the Commissioner's office are a feature of the new material.
The new material includes:
- advice on responsibilities under the Work Safety Act 2008 with regard to bullying
- a Checklist for Employers
- Guidance on how to take a risk management approach to workplace bullying, as is required by the Work Safety Act 2008
- Guidance on how to implement a complete Complaint Resolution process in respect of workplace bullying
- two new training programs available from the Office of the Work Safety Commissioner - Workplace Bullying Awareness for workers and Prevention and Management of Workplace Bullying for more senior staff
- Advice for workers on what bullying is and some options they might consider if they feel they have been subjected to workplace bullying
- advice on Workcover's role in respect of workplace bullying.
To find out more about this new material, visit the website at www.worksafety.act.gov.au/bullying
TRAINING: New 'Workplace Bullying Awareness' Workshops for staff available
Our new half day workshop is targeted at workers and focuses on bullying awareness and what responses can be taken at the individual level to bullying or perceptions of bullying in the workplace.
The workshop addresses the types of things that could be considered to constitute bullying as well as those which would not generally be bullying (e.g. reasonable management action that is taken in a reasonable manner). Workshop attendees will also work through how to respond to bullying, what options are available at the individual level, what the law requires and what actions we can take personally to prevent bullying occurring.
The cost of this course is $180 per person. All participants will receive a Workbook as well as morning tea / coffee.
Bookings are essential for this course. The following sessions are currently scheduled:
Wednesday 17 March 2010
Tuesday 27 April 2010
Wednesday 9 June 2010
Monday 26 July 2010
Wednesday 15 September 2010
You can SIGN UP FOR ONE OF OUR SCHEDULED COURSES, or you can enquire about arranging an in-house or group course specifically for your workplace at www.worksafety.act.gov.au
NOTE: There is no obligation to undertake training provided by the Office of the Work Safety Commissioner. There are many other reputable providers of training in this area whom you might want to consider for the delivery of such training.
TRAINING: New 'Preventing & Responding to Workplace Bullying' Workshop for managers
This full day workshop is available for Executives, Human Resource Managers, Managers and Supervisors, Executives, Contact Officers, WorkCover Inspectors and/or workers.
The workshop covers the following topics:
- understanding the problem - what is bullying, and what is not
- responding to bullying - at the individual level, at the manager/supervisor level and at the corporate level
- prevention
- human resource strategies
- organisational responses and strategies
- best practice policies and procedures
- managing alleged bullies.
- The cost of this course is $390 per person. All participants will receive a Participant's Workbook as well as coffee/tea on arrival, morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea.
Bookings are essential for this course. The following sessions are currently scheduled:
Friday 19 March 2010
Friday 30April 2010
Monday 7 June 2010
Wednesday 28 July 2010
Monday 13 September 2010
You can SIGN UP FOR ONE OF OUR SCHEDULED COURSES, or you can enquire about arranging an in-house or group course specifically for your workplace at www.worksafety.act.gov.au
WORKCOVER - SAFETY ALERT 
RUNAWAY VEHICLES IN AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR WORKSHOPS
This safety alert has been published following an incident where a motor mechanic started a vehicle by bridging the ignition/starter motor wiring in the engine bay. The vehicle had been left in ‘drive’ and, although the hand brake had been applied, the vehicle surged forward and pushed a 16-year-old apprentice through a brick and glass wall from the first floor of the workshop to the car park below. The apprentice and motor mechanic narrowly escaped serious injury or death.
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS
Occupational health and safety legislation requires employers and those in control of workplaces to take appropriate steps to eliminate or minimise any foreseeable risk to the health, safety and welfare of workers, and others in the workplace. They must provide appropriate information, instruction, training and supervision to ensure that the work is performed in a suitable and safe manner.
RISK CONTROLS
Workplace-specific control measures must be developed in consultation with workers, to ensure that the most effective means are put in place to prevent incidents.
To avoid incidents such as that outlined above, the mechanic should ensure that:
• the vehicle is in park or neutral for an automatic vehicle, or neutral for a manual, before the engine is started
• someone is in the vehicle with their foot on the brake when the car is started
• no-one is standing in front or behind the vehicle when the engine is started
• wheel chocks (or other safety devices) are used when required.
FURTHER INFORMATION
For more information, call 13 10 50 or visit www.workcover.nsw.gov.au
ATO ALERT 
Consumer Fraud Awareness week runs from 1-7 March and is a timely reminder to protect yourself online and be on the look out for scams.
You can boost your level of protection online by following our simple six-step checklist:
1. Ensure your computer has up-to-date anti-virus and security software.
2. Enable automatic updates for your operating system and applications including your web browsers to ensure they remain current.
3. Use spam filtering software to help block fake emails or emails containing viruses.
If you receive a spam email, delete it and don't open email attachments from unknown sources.
4. When using social networking sites such as Facebook, be careful about the personal information you publish, and customise your security settings to ensure your profile is only accessible to those you trust.
5. Do not provide your tax file number online unless you are certain about the authenticity of the website.
6. Remember, we will never send you an email requesting you to confirm, update or disclose your personal details. If you receive an email like that, please do not respond to it.
For more information on how to report and protect yourself from scams and to see examples of genuine ATO communications, visit www.ato.gov.au/onlinesecurity
ARE YOU A VICTIM OF A TELCO SCAM? 
Have you been offered free equipment, call credits and cheaper phone bills?
The scam works this way.
A company offers you cheaper phone bills, and as a reward for signing their contracts, they give you free equipment – Phone system, plasma TV’s, Computers, Printers, in fact any sort of equipment you need or want, they will provide.
Depending on the size of your telephone bill, they will then negotiate a call credit of around your call spend, much the same as mobile phone plans. They get you to sign 2 contracts, and each month a Finance Company deducts money from your account which covers the cost of your calls, up to the negotiated amount. Any calls in excess of the call credit is then deducted by the telephone company.
Everything works out fine for a while, but part way into your 5 year contract the telephone company goes into liquidation and your telephones stop working. It is then you find out that you are stuck in a 5 year contract with a Finance company, and then you have to pay someone else to provide telephone service – so you are now paying double.
What you don’t realise is, the company that signed you up, may have added extra equipment to your contract after you signed, and over inflated the price of the “Free” equipment. In many cases, the victim wasn’t left with a copy of the contract they signed and the only one that exists is the tampered one that the Finance Company has.
If you fight it in Court, unless it is the Federal Court, you will lose or have to settle and pay them out. It will cost you tens of thousands of dollars to fight them, or you will have to pay an exorbitant price for the “Free” equipment to get out of the contract.
The ACCC is prosecuting many of these Companies and Directors, but there are many they are not. Each day a Telco closes and another one opens in its place, to trap more victims.
There are thousands of small businesses out there who are victims and their cases are clogging the Court system.
For more information - www.telco-finance-scams.com
There is also a video clip produced: http://www.youtube.com/
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