Some small businesses in Victoria fear hiring new staff, but others are bucking the trend
As many small business owners are afraid to hire staff amid COVID-19 uncertainty, one Victorian florist has said she won’t be tempted to hire a young worker just to get a JobMaker incentive.
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Small business owners are afraid to hire staff amid COVID-19 uncertainty, confusing industry awards and unfair dismissal rules that many view are stacked against them.
Despite the Federal Government headlining job creation in last week’s Budget, it’s estimated three quarters of the nation’s 2.3 million small business owners won’t be hiring any time soon.
Council of Small Business Organisations Australia CEO Peter Strong said “it’s too risky at the moment to employ someone”.
“They are afraid of getting it wrong – it’s so complicated and they see a lot of big businesses getting it wrong,” he said.
COSBOA has called for a simple small business award, and Mr Strong said many business owners were worried about being taken to court for unfair dismissal.
One employer told News Corp Australia “it’s stacked against you” when even new employees on probation could claim for unfair dismissal, while a sole trader said she had ignored opportunities to expand in recent years because “that meant employing staff”.
The CEO of outsourced human resources provider HR Central, Damien Gooden, said it cost a worker about $75 to make an unfair dismissal claim through the Fair Work Commission, while employers who fought back could face thousands of dollars in legal fees.
“Even if you’re right there’s a huge cost – businesses just roll over and do a deal,” he said.
COVID-19 was causing havoc with business hiring decisions, Mr Gooden said.
“Holding onto existing employees is enough of a risk at the moment, rather than bringing new ones on,” he said.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty around.”
Small Business Australia executive director Bill Lang said it could be years before some businesses considered hiring.
“A majority of small businesses are very small and are not going to take the risk,” he said.
Mr Lang said no business owner wanted to be stuck in legal battles.
“Many small business owners will pay out the person to make them go away, the lawyer gets their money then looks around for other people, and the business owner thinks ‘how can I avoid employees?’,” he said.
‘I WON’T JUST HIRE YOUNG PEOPLE’
The Federal Government’s new JobMaker Hiring Credit will not change the way South Yarra florist Victoria Whitelaw chooses her employees.
Offering up to $200 a week to employers that take on eligible jobseekers under the age of 35, the JobMaker scheme was announced as part of the Federal Budget last week.
“I am not just going to go with young people because I will get JobMaker,” Ms Whitelaw said.
“I want to employ people that have knowledge and creativity and courage, and life experience.”
The owner of Victoria Whitelaw Beautiful Flowers had 23 employees before COVID-19 and that was now down to 16 – but she planned to begin hiring again soon.
Despite a rollercoaster year, business was growing - thanks to community support.
“We are Melbourne’s biggest special event florist and it started with losing the Grand Prix then all our weddings, all our beautiful big hotels we service and look after, all our corporate work, and we have lost all our beautiful instore trade,” she said.
“Like everyone else in small business, we didn’t know what was going to happen each day and how to deal with the next step.
“We were almost running half a day at a time with that complete unknown.”
Ms Whitelaw knew the florist would need to adapt so started a new arm of the business, delivering fresh produce and specialty boxes filled with items such as champagne, scones, jam and cream.
These days, however, demand for flowers has been enough to keep the team busy and create demand for new employees.
“Flowers are such an emotional product and people are wanting to let friends and loved ones know how much they miss them and care for them,” she said.
“It’s the most perfect gift to do that.”
