Company: Albri Pty Ltd, t/a High Country Tree Services
Owner/Operators: Al & Bri Seaton
Location: Mansfield, Victoria
Industry: Tree Services
Employees: 14

 

 

Workforce Guardian is a one-stop-shop for all our HR needs - it cuts our ER compliance down to size.

Bri Seaton, Manager, High Country Tree Services

January 2010 was an auspicious day for Bri Seaton.  She and her husband Al became employers as the new owner and manager of professional arboriculture, tree surgery and pruning business, High Country Tree Services - having been employees there for some years.  It was also the day that the new Modern Awards and the ten National Employment Standards of the Fair Work Act 2009 came into effect.

Established in 1992, High Country Tree Services specialises in all aspects of tree maintenance, tree care, wood chipping and stump grinding. And as the new manager, Bri hit the ground running.

"We knew we needed to make big changes straightaway like having new work contracts in place that reflected the new legislation. Fair Work Australia was obviously flooded at this time so this made waiting times long and costly.  When we did finally get through to a Fair Work Info Line consultant, they couldn't answer a simple question like 'Which Award applies to our employees?'  Then it was difficult to find legal advice that wasn't ridiculously costly, especially since we had done much of the leg work ourselves."

Tree experts not ER experts

With a team of qualified arborists, trained tree climbers, support staff and an apprentice on her books, Bri wanted to go to great heights to ensure that the new company's employment relations practices achieved the best result for the business and the employees. But with no formal training in employment relations, she didn't want to handle all the new compliance obligations by herself.

"I wanted do the right thing by the company's employees and ensure their contracts were correct.  I wanted to make sure that they were getting all their entitlements, that they were paid well above the Modern Award rate and that the additional conditions that we had added to their contracts were also compliant.  Workforce Guardian helped us to achieve this.

"By using Workforce Guardian we know that our employment contracts are compliant with the appropriate new Modern Award and National Employment Standards."

Pruning employment contracts into shape

"Workforce Guardian has taken the pressure off us to write lengthy employment contracts that look after 'us' the employer, and are also fair and compliant for our employees.  The service has given us HR forms and procedures to use which are quick and simple and which we know don't require further checking from a lawyer.

"Workforce Guardian has been like a one-stop-shop for all our HR needs."