Wage and time records
There are no fewer than 10 distinct requirements for wage and time records, including recording the age of the employee (if under 20 years of age), the type of employment agreement the employee is employed on (individual or collective), the hours worked each day (including start time, finish time and any non-paid breaks taken) and the days of employment in each pay period.
Holidays and sick leave
When it comes to recording holidays and sick leave, the list is even more onerous. By law, holiday and leave records must include the days on which an employee works, the date the employee last became entitled to annual holidays, current entitlements to annual holidays and sick leave, and the dates and amount of payment for any annual holiday, sick or bereavement leave taken. Also needed are the dates of and payment for any public holiday worked, the number of hours worked on any public holiday and the day, or part of any public holiday agreed to be transferred, and the day to which it has been transferred.
Responsibility cannot be delegated
Employers commonly instruct and rely on a senior employee or manager to collect and retain such records. It is imperative for employers to understand that where the senior employee or manager fails in that regard, it is no defence for the employer not meeting its legal obligations.
We have seen a number of these instances in a farming context - whether it is, for example, the accounts person responsible for collecting the information or the farm manager’s responsibility. Irrespectively, the employer is held liable for the accounts person or farm manager’s failure to keep accurate records.
• Adam Gallagher and Summer Pringle are employment law specialists at Duncan Cotterill Lawyers. www.DuncanCotterill.com.
