The need to establish the Fair Work Ombudsman’s Small Business Helpline, promised by the Coalition at the last election, has been vindicated by the 50,000 calls received so far today.
The Helpline, launched in December last year, was foreshadowed in the Coalition’s Policy to Improve the Fair Work Laws.
Minister for Employment Senator Eric Abetz said the Government understood that providing advice to time-poor business operators was important.
“Small business operators don’t want to wait on hold, they want quick and reliable advice so that they can get back to running their businesses,” Senator Abetz said
“It’s crucial to equip small business operators and employees with the resources they need in a timely fashion. That’s why we made this promise and implemented it as quickly as possible.”
All callers to the Infoline or Small Business Helpline can expect to receive expert advice and information that can be relied upon.
Minister for Small Business Bruce Billson said small business operators want to do the right thing and the Helpline is an important tool to help them in doing so.
“Small business operators are now able to rely on advice from the Fair Work Ombudsman, without fear of prosecution should the information be incorrect,” Mr Billson said.
Earlier this week, the Fair Work Ombudsman also released the Guide to hiring new employees, which is the latest measure in a suite of tools aimed at assisting small businesses.
We encourage small business people around Australia with queries about the workplace relations framework to call the Small Business Helpline on 13 13 94.
