Hey everyone! 👋💛 It’s been a few months since we kicked off our Coffee Catch-Ups and Monthly Connects, and I just wanted to say how much I’ve loved seeing this little community grow. The insights, the questions, the shared experiences — it’s honestly been so valuable, and I’d love to keep building on that. Thank you to everyone who has been posting, commenting and keeping the community engaged! I know we’re heading into a very busy time of year, but I’m wondering if we can lock in one more Catch-Up before things get too chaotic. A lot of you have mentioned that Friday lunches can be tricky with work commitments, so I’d really like to find a time that suits more of you. I’m going to put up a poll — super simple — just to understand what works best: ✨ What day works for you? Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / Friday ✨ What time works for you? – Before work – After work (thinking something light like 4pm or 5–5:30pm) – 12/1pm lunch time The goal is to get as many of you on the call as possible so we can keep learning from each other, connecting, and supporting one another in the whirlwind that is HR and corporate life. 🙌 Thanks so much, everyone — can’t wait to see what works best for the group so we can lock it in! 💬☕

Okay HR fam — this one’s a big deal and it’s already shaking up how employers handle annualised or “set-off” salaries. The Federal Court has recently ruled that you can’t rely on overpaying someone in one pay period to fix an underpayment in another — unless the award or the pay arrangement specifically allows it. This came out of the Woolworths and Coles case (Sept 2025), where the Court made it crystal clear: 💬 “An overpayment in pay period A cannot be used to excuse an underpayment in pay period B.” So, if you’ve been using an “above-award” salary to cover overtime or penalty rates across a longer period — that might no longer cut it. ⚖️ What the Court said: - Award entitlements have to be identifiable and paid within each pay period. - You can’t “pool” or “average out” wages unless the award allows it. - Section 323 of the Fair Work Act requires wages to be paid in the period they’re earned. 🚨 Why this matters: This decision ramps up the compliance burden for anyone using annualised salaries. It means employers must be able to prove — for every single pay period — that all entitlements were met. If they can’t? That’s where underpayments start adding up fast. For Woolies and Coles, remediation is estimated in the hundreds of millions. So now I’m curious — Do you think this decision will push more employers to ditch annualised salaries altogether? Or will it finally push businesses to get serious about payroll accuracy and record-keeping? Drop your thoughts below 👇 Would love to hear how your organisations or clients are approaching this after the ruling.

Hi HR Folks A question: what is your company’s approach to company-paid parental leave? Specifically: do you offer over-and-above (paid separately to gov’t Paid Parental Leave) or top-up (tops up the government payment to a higher rate)? If you offer either, how do you manage it in payroll especially if you are doing top ups ? Thank you.

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Hey everyone! 👋🏽 A great contact in my network just shared an HR/Talent networking event that I had to pass on to you all! It’s actually happening this Thursday — I know, very last-minute — but I’ve heard it’s genuinely a fantastic one if you’re in the HR or Talent space. There is a ticket cost, but honestly… ask your company to cover it. You can easily position it as part of your learning, development, and professional growth (which it is!). I’ll be going, so hopefully I’ll see some of you there! ✨ Event link: https://luma.com/qsmhnojk