In the last few months Wageline has been conducting a proactive campaign highlighting employers' obligations to keep employment records. The response to this campaign has been very positive with employers contacting Wageline for extra information and downloading our record keeping templates which assist small business meet their legal obligations.

Keeping employment records is a key business requirement that many small business employers get wrong. All state system employers are legally required to keep employment records that detail time worked, leave taken and pay received by employees.

Small business employers can be fined up to $5,000 by the Industrial Magistrates Court for not keeping employment records or for keeping inadequate or fraudulent records.

Industrial inspectors have statutory powers to investigate complaints from employees and employers are obliged to provide records when required to do so. Employers can be fined for not providing employment records to the Department's Industrial Inspectors. In a recent case, a Perth doctor was ordered by the Industrial Magistrates court to pay a penalty of $4,000 plus disbursements for obstructing an investigation by the Department into whether he correctly paid one of his workers.