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The Australian Government introduced amendments under the Treasury Laws Amendment (Electric Car Discount) Bill 2022 (Cth), exempting from fringe benefits tax (FBT) for all zero or low-emission vehicles (that do not exceed the Luxury Car Tax Threshold for fuel-efficient vehicles over the four years (1 July 2022-30 June 2026) at a projected cost of $205 million to the public sector. The Australian Government is relying on this policy reform to encourage a greater uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) and contribute to its emission reduction target. The article will examine the effectiveness of the EV FBT amendments in meeting the government's objectives and whether it is both fair and equitable to all eligible employees and not disproportionately beneficial to higher-income earners. The article finds that behavioural economic considerations are critical when reforming blunt policy instruments to influence behaviour, which means understanding the factors that influence future buyers of EVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian disability workforce has grown, and there is compelling evidence that peer work has a number of valuable impacts. Despite these apparent opportunities, there continue to be high levels of unemployment among people with disability and failure to draw on the assets of people with disability in Australian workplaces. To understand these ostensible missed opportunities, this study examined the ways in which lived experience was described as an asset in disability workforce recruitment. Advertisements for positions in New South Wales, Australia, that referred to lived experience or peer work and disability were collected over a 3‐month period. Through a process of content analysis, we found that there were more employment opportunities for people with lived experience of mental illness than for other types of disability. Community engagement was a key function, and peer workers were described as complementary to professionals. Recruitment processes for lived experience jobs were not necessarily accessible. We recommend systemic reforms to facilitate recognition of lived experience as a valuable criterion for disability sector employment and to harness the benefits of a disability peer workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While flexible working-time arrangements are highly sought-after entitlements for the reconciliation of work and family responsibilities, they also risk workplace stigma and deterioration in users' (typically mothers') employment status and career prospects. Among potential influences on these outcomes is the formality of provisions. In this analysis we examine job satisfaction, work/family benefits and employment penalties among Australian mothers using flexible working arrangements, comparing the outcomes of those who accessed flexible working-time arrangements formally (through policy provisions available at their workplace) with the outcomes of those who used informally negotiated arrangements. Using data from a nationally representative cohort of working mothers, we show that the use of flexible working-time arrangements was positively associated with specific indicators of job satisfaction, and that this association was stronger among mothers who accessed formal arrangements. However, formality was positively associated not only with perceived benefits (such as more time with family) but also with problems (such as intensified workloads and lost opportunities for training). Overall, our findings suggest that while formality is important, it may also amplify the tension between benefits and penalties associated with flexible working-time arrangements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Working from home expanded rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic. This Controversy examines how working from home was framed and regulated pre-pandemic. We contrast this with the changes made to Australia's industrial award system during the pandemic to increase flexibilities around working from home, in response to a collective need for a responsive safety net. We argue that the conception and regulation of working from home is shifting from an individual flexibility, to a 'collective flexibility' available to a wide array of workers, collectively negotiated and governed by increased regulation. While industrial instruments were varied to accommodate public health requirements and the need of organisations and employees to work from home, these shifts were temporary. We argue that working from home provisions should rightly be regulated as a collective entitlement. We therefore consider possible ways forward in regulating this form of working, drawing from international developments. We raise these issues to extend debates around how working from home can be regulated to benefit employers and employees as we move towards COVID-normal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Australia, pay awards by government tribunals cover nearly the entire work force, and those awards set equal pay for comparable union and non- union workers. Union members may, however, secure higher compensation through plant-level bargaining. This study uses 1984-88 panel data to estimate the magnitude of union effects on compensation by examining changes in the compensation of employees who enter and leave union jobs, relative to changes in the compensation of workers who remain union or nonunion. The results show that union workers in Australia enjoy 7-18% higher wages than comparable nonunion workers and are also more likely to have access to a pension plan [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes and analyzes the evolving methods and concepts of wage fixation by public bodies in Australia. Wage problems are a prolific source of disputation and strife between employers and employees. The basic wage was regarded as a needs wage and as social in implication, being determined without reference to the market value or the nature of the work performed. The adoption of the total wage did not end the differentiation between male and female wage rates which has been a distinguishing feature of Australian wage regulation from early days.

This article builds on the competitive federalism literature by examining the role federalism plays in determining policy trajectories with consequences for public welfare in individual jurisdictions. It examines the argument that federalism encourages a 'race to the bottom' using the case of workers' compensation benefits for injured workers in Australia. It finds state systems have been characterised by a downward slide in the protections afforded injured workers since the late 1970s, and this has been associated with policy makers' real or rhetorical concerns around interstate competition for business investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes to the superannuation rules that came into effect on 1 July 2017 have resulted in the significant restructuring of many clients' superannuation interests and strategies. While most clients have put arrangements in place to ensure that the new superannuation transfer balance cap has not been breached, many are only now considering the longer-term strategic planning and practical changes required moving forward. This article looks at some of the changes to come in, looks back at strategies commonly employed before 1 July 2017 and reviews their effectiveness, and discusses some of the strategic thinking required now. This article also includes a case study and examines a number of issues, including contribution strategies, various investment strategies, the ATO's recent guidance, benefit planning and estate planning considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review is based on the international and Australian literature on paid parental leave. It does not aim to be exhaustive but focuses on the impact paid parental leave has on the labour force participation of mothers in developed countries. Four aspects of paid parental leave are explored, including the impacts of: introducing paid parental leave; changing the duration of existing paid parental leave; changing the generosity of existing paid parental leave payments; and paid paternity leave. It interprets the implications in the context of Australia, and includes descriptive information on the recent and current situation in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the adoption of paid maternity and parental leave policies in the liberal welfare states of Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom and investigates the domestic and international sources of policy ideas. Through comparative analysis using mainly qualitative techniques of analysis of primary and secondary sources and elite interviews, the article examines the decision-making processes in each of these jurisdictions. It finds the relative influence of international organizations to be rather limited in comparison to domestic sources of influence, including the election of leftist governments under sympathetic party leaders and in the context of human capital concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This baseline study examines the retirement adequacy of indigenous Australians. Using indigenous Australian demographic and employment data, we construct a forty years retirement savings profile. We employ simulation techniques to estimate the superannuation balance of a 'typical' indigenous worker. The findings reveal that the retirement outcomes of indigenous workers are approximately 27 per cent lower than the average non-indigenous worker. We also provide baseline estimates of the gender gap in retirement outcomes for indigenous workers. We concede that improving indigenous lifetime outcomes is a significant public policy issue; one that requires many more policy levers than those available to financial economists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the impact of board structures on risk taking-CEO pay association in Australian financial institutions. Using a panel data of 45 listed Australian financial institutions for the period 2004-2015, we examine the empirical relationship between firms expected default probability and CEO pay. Our results show that deposit taking institutions with a greater number of nonexecutive directors on the board generally have an expected default probability (EDP) that is more sensitive to CEO short-term employee benefits. However, a lower response of EDP to changes in CEO short-term employee benefits in non-deposit taking institutions is observed. To a large extent, this phenomenon is explained by the existence of moral hazard problem in banking industry. As depositors are insured against losses, nonexecutive directors may fail to monitor executives taking on risky investments that generate short-term gains in order to boost their cash bonus and other short-term risk remuneration. Our results suggest that boards associated with more nonexecutive directors' increase (reduce) the responsiveness of expected default probability to changes in CEO short-term employee benefits (long-term variable remuneration pay). We observe that Australian financial institutions with large boards are linked to EDP which is sensitive to both CEO short-term and long-term remuneration incentives. Institutions with larger boards motivate their CEOs to invest in high risk financial assets, consequently escalating the level of CEO risk-taking. Finally, independence of the board members plays a critical role in reducing the level of CEO risk-taking only if CEO remuneration is largely made of long-term incentives remuneration such as options and share restricted payments. In line with other studies from US, boards should use long-term incentives in CEO remuneration to reduce agency costs and increase firm value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dependence on 401 (k) retirement accounts continues to cause a massive retirement crisis in the United States by leaving most workers unprepared for retirement. The voluntary, inaccessible, employer-centered, expensive, and consumer-driven natures of these plans have combined to make retirement a type of corporate-inspired elder abuse in America. Behavioral economics considers the utility of permitting individual choice in decision-making settings. Many, however, have been misled to believe that greater choice is always better. Yet, according to one prominent commentator, this consumer-driven paradigm will lead to 48% of current workers between the ages of fifty and sixty-four being poor when they reach retirement. Behavioral economic workplace research, instead, strongly suggests that a better approach would be to use "choice architecture" to nudge workers into well-diversified, low-fee default retirement accounts set up by government-regulated private retirement funds. Such a successful paternalistic workplace retirement model already exists. The Australian Superannuation Guarantee is a mandatory, universal, private, and comparatively inexpensive workplace retirement scheme. It also aligns the interests of retirement fund managers with fund participants. Most Australian employees do not exercise choice with regard to how their retirement contributions are invested. Employer contributions default into an individual's My Super retirement account operated by the country's best money managers, who invest worker funds in a diversified manner, while charging very low investment fees. As part of my Stewart Lecture remarks, 1 outline here a vision for the transformation of the American 401 (k) retirement system into an efficient and sustainable superannuation model based on behavioral economic insights from the Australian workplace retirement system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the implications of maternity leave on insurance policies in Australia. It highlights the report of Suncorp Group Ltd. which reveals that people are considering the flexibility around working considerations and hours offered by organizations. It notes that insurance companies need to adopt to the changing needs of employees and view flexibility as a given, not a benefit. It enumerates the top tips for parental leave

This paper explores the compensation and benefits ( C& B) practices of subsidiaries of multinational companies ( MNCs) operating in Australia between 1996 and 2009 and contrasts them with comparable local firms. The evolution of C& B over the period is tracked using a composite index taken from two iterations (1996, 2008/9) of the CRANET Australia survey of HR practices and analysed in the context of significant deregulation of Australian human resource/industrial relations institutional settings during this period. The research finds no overall increase in compensation and benefits sophistication, but significant differences between MNCs and locals and enduring country of origin/region effects within the different MNC groups. Localization pressures on MNC practices appear to have reduced in response to deregulation and there is some, but not conclusive, evidence of increasing dominance effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia's income tax regime contains a number of charging provisions that may apply to non-cash proceeds of personal exertion and business. There is overlap in the operation of these provisions, which in turn requires priority of application rules and anti-double taxation rules. The fact that one of these charging provisions (i.e. fringe benefits tax) is in a separate piece of legislation adds complexity. Further difficulty is added because the various charging provisions contain different valuation rules. This article highlights the problematic areas and anomalies concerning charging provisions as they apply to non-cash benefits, with the aim of attaining some clarity to the operation of the rules. The approach is to use a tabular summary (table) to identify the relevant charging provision (e.g. ss 6-5 and 15-2 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997('ITAA 1997')) that applies in regard to various economic activities (e.g. personal exertion that is not employment), and to reconcile the charging provisions where overlap exists. For completeness, the table also identifies circumstances where no charging provision applies to common non-cash benefits obtained by taxpayers (e.g. mere gifts). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 22 October 2012, the Australian Federal Government announced the removal of the $1,000 in-house fringe benefits concession when used as part of a salary packaging arrangement. At the time of the announcement, the Federal Government predicted that the removal of the concession would contribute additional tax revenue of $445 million over the following four years as well as an increase of GST payments to the States and Territories. However, anecdotal evidence at the same time indicated that the Australian employer response was to immediately stop providing employees with such in-house fringe benefits via salary sacrificing arrangements. Data presented in this article, collected from a combination of interviews with tax managers of four Australian entities as well as a review of the published archival data, confirms that the abolition of the $1,000 in-house fringe benefits concession was perceived as a negative change, whereby employees were considered the 'big losers' despite assertions by the Federal Government to the contrary. Using a conceptual map of tax rule change developed by Oats and Sadler, this article seeks to understand the reasons for this fringe benefits tax change and taxpayer response. In particular, the economic and political factors, and the responses of the relevant taxpayers (employers) are explored. Drawing on behavioural economic concepts, the actions, attitudes and response of employers to the rule change are also examined. The research findings suggest that the decision by Australian employers to cease providing the in-house fringe benefits as part of a salary-packaging arrangement after the legislative amendment was impacted by more than simple rational behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the impact of 'Working Credit', a nationally-implemented programme which created increased incentives for welfare recipients to undertake temporary work. Highlighting the difficulties in identifying programme effects in the absence of a randomised controlled trial or a natural experiment, we produce estimates of impacts under alternative identifying assumptions and also undertake various robustness checks. Unconditional and regression-adjusted difference-in-difference estimates suggest that the introduction of the Working Credit programme increased employment rates, earnings and exits for those on income support, but matching methods and various robustness checks provide conflicting evidence on the impact on movements from welfare to work for unemployment benefit recipients. Moreover, estimated effects on earnings while on benefits are sensitive to identifying assumptions. Notwithstanding our inability to conclusively identify causal effects of the programme, we note that our findings are broadly consistent with the incentive effects of the programme, with recipients making use of the credits to increase earnings while on benefits, but not increasing movements off welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a study on the rise and use of balanced scorecard (BSC) performance measurement system in government departments in Australia. The study used a mail-out questionnaire survey to gather empirical data on the use of BSC implementation, participants' profiles and BSC systems benefits. Moreover, the government's managing or working for outcomes framework plays an important role to shape the performance measurement practices among public sector agencies.

Australia's Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) regime is not aligned with environmental policy objectives of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from road transport. Unfortunately, the reform announced by the Australian Government on 10 May 2011 to remove the incentive for people driving excess kilometres to reduce tax liability is unlikely to significantly cut road emissions. This is because the reform fails to address other behavioural effects harmful to the environment, that is, the concession will continue to increase the total number of vehicles acquired, and distort employees' choice of vehicle towards larger, more carbon emitting vehicles. To achieve a significant reduction in road transport emissions will require improving the fuel efficiency of conventional vehicles as well as a gradual transition from fossil fuels to alternative fuels, both of which will involve technological advancement in low carbon vehicles. However, to bring such technology to the market will require consumers to make a behavioural change by purchasing low emission vehicles, and this will require Government support so that consumers are guided towards making such low carbon choices. This paper argues that the existing car fringe benefits concession is an effective measure to encourage a behavioural change to low-emission vehicles, particularly as over half of all new vehicles acquired each year are fleet vehicles under the FBT regime. This would also significantly build up the country's fleet of low-emission vehicles, as vehicles under the FBT regime are sold onto the second hand market every two to three years. Given this, the paper considers what reform is necessary to the car FBT regime to encourage a behavioural change that would build up Australia's fleet of low emission vehicles and support the environmental policy objective of significantly reducing road transport emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has shown that employee well-being is associated with a range of positive outcomes such as reduced stress and improved productivity. The aim of this study was to assess the awareness of Australian HR Managers of a broader range of concepts related to wellbeing and of the nature and prevalence of well-being programs in Australian organisations. An email invitation was sent to 3471 HR professionals in Australia of whom 319 responded to the online survey (9.2%). Findings indicate that Australian HR professionals offer a range of services related to emotional, intellectual, social and physical well-being, but only a minority include services related to spiritual well-being. Most respondents consider that the benefits of well-being programs outweigh the costs. However, the low response rate may suggest that many organisations do not yet recognise the importance of promoting well-being at work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the nature and extent of statutory executive stock option disclosures by Australian listed companies over the 2001–2004 period, and the influence of corporate governance mechanisms on these disclosures. Our results show a progressive increase in overall compliance from 2001 to 2004. However, despite the improved compliance, the results reveal managements’ continued reluctance to disclose more sensitive executive stock option information. Factors associated with good internal governance, including board independence, audit committee independence and effectiveness, and compensation committee independence and effectiveness are found to contribute to improved compliance. Similarly, certain external governance factors are associated with improved disclosure, including external auditor quality, shareholder activism (as proxied by companies identified as poor performers by the Australian Shareholders’ Association) and regulatory intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture and livestock grazing threaten biodiversity around the world. In the grazing landscapes of eastern Australia, a common conservation strategy has been to exclude livestock from large patches of trees (typically >5 ha). This has major local benefits, but is unlikely to stem regional biodiversity loss. Using a case study from the Upper Lachlan catchment in New South Wales, we show that (1) approximately 30% of tree cover occurs as very small patches or scattered trees; (2) large patches have disappeared from 90% of the landscape; and (3) large patches are 3.5 times more likely to be in unproductive upland areas than in low-land areas of high conservation concern. Given the limitations of focusing on large patches of trees to achieve regional conservation outcomes, the next generation of conservation initiatives should consider a new suite of additional measures that could deliver biodiversity benefits across broad areas of the region. Two key measures that must be considered are new incentives for farmers to alter livestock grazing practices and reduce fertilizer use. INSET: The box-gum grassy woodland project in New South Wales, Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Welfare-to-work schemes operate through two main channels: they monitor compliance with work-related conditions for receiving benefits, and they support people into work with job search assistance and training. This article examines how the privatisation of employment service provision affects the balance between compliance and support. It is suggested that private providers working under contracts which reward employment results have little incentive to monitor compliance. this hypothesis is supported by evidence from Australia, where contracts with providers now spell out monitoring procedures and do not heavily reward results. In the Netherlands, approaches to private contracting differ between the social insurance system (which is more oriented to results than compliance) and the social assistance system, where the municipalities are strongly compliance-oriented. The implication is that privatisation does not necessarily contribute towards enforcing benefit recipients' compliance with work-focused activity conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Welfare-to-work policy, implemented in July 2006 by the Federal Government, imposed a new work and activity obligation on people applying for the Disability Support Pension. This requirement not only created a new obligation for people with disability but also for employment consultants working in nonprofit Disability Employment Network organisations to monitor the conduct of this new cohort on behalf of Centrelink. For many employment consultants traditionally drawn to the nonprofit disability sector for altruistic reasons, this has created an ethical dilemma between their duty to their employer, and acting in the best interests of their clients. Drawing on aspects of ethical theory we find that, although most employment consultants justify their actions in terms of duty to the organisation, some find themselves in an ethical dilemma of 'who to serve' when the interests of the organisation and the welfare of the client are mismatched. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a comparative analysis of patterns of exposure to job stressors and stress-related workers’ compensation (WC) claims to provide an evaluation of the adequacy of claims-driven policy and practice. We assessed job strain prevalence in a 2003 population-based survey of Victorian [Australia] workers and compared these results with stress-related WC statistics for the same year. Job strain prevalence was higher among females than males, and elevated among lower vs. higher occupational skill levels. In comparison, claims were higher among females than males, but primarily among higher skill-level workers. There was some congruence between exposure and WC claims patterns. Highly exposed groups in lower socio-economic positions were underrepresented in claims statistics, suggesting that the WC insurance perspective substantially underestimates the job stress problems for these groups. Thus to provide a sufficient evidence base for equitable policy and practice responses to this growing public health problem, exposure or health outcome data are needed as an essential complement to claims statistics.Journal of Public Health Policy (2009) 30, 17–39. doi:10.1057/jphp.2008.41 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the national pension information in twelve Organisation for Economic Co-operation and development (OECD) countries including Australia, Canada, and the U.S. It notes the necessity for individuals to know the salient feature of pensions to make decisions about retirement and savings. It mentions that different types of risks are involved in different types of pension plans. It offers a comparative analysis on individual pension information across countries and provide guidelines for best practices in the area of pension information.

Recent trends in tax transfers have seen an increasing interdependence of tax and welfare systems in determining access to and the quantum of benefits, particularly in relation to in-work benefits, such as family support. Both the United Kingdom and Australia have adopted family support mechanisms that appear to operate in a similar way, but closer examination of the detail reflects the differences in underlying policy in the two jurisdictions. This article examines, first, the institutional and policy basis for the design of the family tax transfer system in each jurisdiction and, second, the issues raised by the interdependence of tax and social security concepts in the design of in-work benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although a large body of literature has addressed many of the issues relating to flexible working from both a supply and demand perspective, less attention has focused on situations where these two positions conflict. This research explores a secondary, qualitative data set consisting of over 200 cases of alleged family responsibilities discrimination reported to a community advocacy organization in Brisbane, Australia. Findings indicate that discord in the work environment occurs in relation to (r) requests for part-time work; (z) altered duties during or after maternity leave; (3) requests for changes to rostered work hours; (4) having to take leave to care for sick children; and (5) opportunities for recruitment or promotion. Direct family responsibilities discrimination was evident in only six cases, while the remainder were indirect. A small number of cases were formally lodged for redress although financial compensation was limited. Economic factors such as a shrinking labour force highlight the importance of finding solutions to situations where business imperatives and the well-being of families collide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a survey of Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) members, this article investigates why certain individuals become union representatives (job representatives), and others remain rank-and-file union members. This article argues that job representatives are a key component of an organizing strategy and have played a crucial role in membership growth of the ANF over the last decade. Logistic regression results indicate that union commitment, employer trust, intra- group identification and full-time employment are predictors of representative status. Results of a chi-square test indicate that job representatives have a higher probability of attempting to recruit relative to rank-and-file members. Open-ended questions reveal that nearly 50 percent of rank-and-file members would be willing to become job representatives should they be given more time or reduced working hours, more training or knowledge of responsibilities, or rewards. These findings have implications for ANF organizing strategies and other Australian trade unions in the current climate of industrial relations reform and union density decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internationally, considerable policy attention is being paid to increasing the employment participation of disabled working-age people. Like other OECD countries, Australia has experienced growth in the number of Disability Support Pension (DSP) recipients due to changes in industry structure and increases in precarious employment. This history is well-rehearsed in policy debates. However, little research attention has been given to the housing circumstances of DSP recipients. This is important, particularly when we note the increasing incidence of working-age DSP recipients in the private rental market and public housing. For public renters the incidence has more than tripled to 27 per cent over the period 1982-2002. This paper addresses two questions: 'What are the housing circumstances of DSP recipients?' and 'What are the likely consequences of programme changes aimed at increasing employment participation of DSP recipients?' Using Australia as an example, this article considers interactions between the new disability payment system being implemented through Welfare to Work, housing costs and employment income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose- The purpose of this article is to assess the ability of formal equal employment opportunity (EEO) programmes and workplace agreement making to facilitate work and family balance for women workers in Australia. Design/methodology/approach- This article uses documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews in six Australian organisations that are required to develop formal EEO programmes. Findings- Formal EEO programmes and agreement making are limited in their ability to promote work and family-friendly arrangements at the workplace. Informal arrangements and managerial discretion are important in realising work and care balance. Research limitations/implications- The paper is Australian based, and the case studies were confined to six organisations, which restricts the findings. Practical implications- Leave and work arrangements need to be required within agreements and EEO programmes. Most programmes gravitate towards minimum requirements, hence, it is important to ensure that these minimum requirements provide for work and care reconciliation. Programmes beyond the workplace, such as funded childcare, are important in this context. Originality/value- The article highlights that formal mechanisms cannot achieve work and care reconciliation for women workers if they are built upon very limited minimum requirements, are voluntary and are dependent upon a bargaining process at the workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employee stock options (ESOs) are a popular way of remunerating employees. We analyse factors at the firm and option level affecting the employee's decision to exercise ESOs before they mature. Exercises over the period 1998–2004 are analysed and the key factor influencing early exercise is found to be dividends. Exercises frequently occur well before maturity, but in most cases little time value is sacrificed. Our findings have implications for the ‘fair’ valuation of ESOs in companies’ financial statements, as required by the relevant Australian accounting standard, AASB 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study comprises analysis of data collected by McNair Ingenuity Research as part of the 2005 Giving Australia study, which estimated the total value of corporate giving for the year 2003–04 at $3.3 billion. This was contributed by 67% of all Australian businesses. Business giving was found to comprise 68% monetary donations, 16% goods and 16% services. This article concentrates on the monetary donations of businesses, reporting on the motives and barriers businesses named for making donations. More than 80% of businesses are motivated to give, at least in part, by altruism, with larger businesses (by number of employees and turnover (more likely to claim benefits in terms of enhancements to employee morale, the organisation's image, supplier/customer relationships and the general level of publicity they were able to attract. The most significant barrier to giving named by both businesses who made a donation and those who did not was that business resources were committed elsewhere. Looking at how additional giving might be stimulated among those already giving to the sector revealed that the most generous businesses also cited more barriers to giving suggesting that they give greater consideration to their giving and the drawbacks thereof. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate collapses in Australia have provided stark evidence that employees do not always secure their employment entitlements, despite having a legal right to do so. There has been an implicit assumption in the Australian industrial relations system that employer evasion of employee entitlements is rare. However our detailed examination of enforcement within the Australian federal industrial relations system shows, for the first time, that despite awards, industrial agreements, union presence and an official enforcement agency, correct payment of entitlements has always been problematic. This paper examines inspection strategy between 1904 and 1995 and makes two points. The first is that changes in strategy have reduced the probability of detection. The second is that shifts towards individual contracts, lower union density, and increased precarious employment have decreased the likelihood of employees' ability to recover monies owed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the continued increase in female participation rates, Australia remains one of only two developed nations in the world without a paid maternity leave scheme. While research interest and public policy debate about paid maternity leave entitlements continues, little is known about the actual utilization of the 52 weeks unpaid parental leave that is currently available to all employees. Moreover, research and policy debate on the availability and provision of paid paternity leave has only just begun. This paper argues that, given the gendered nature of employee entitlements, it is time to re-evaluate all aspects of parental leave policy in Australia. Using unique data from a national survey of Australian employees, the paper provides a statistical analysis of the use of unpaid parental leave and the availability of paid maternity leave. The paper models the availability of paid maternity leave to Australian employees as a function of demographic and organizational characteristics, including annual income, union status, and establishment size. A parallel analysis of the likelihood that an individual has used the unpaid parental leave provision is also provided. The results show that the existing unpaid parental leave provision is rarely used and that the current availability of paid maternity leave is inequitable. The paper discusses the conceptual and policy implications of these results and concludes that a re-thinking of parental leave policy in Australia is essential if gender inequities at work and in society are to be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on data from 315 Canadian and Australian firms, this study examines the incidence of 13 specific forms of performance pay, along with factors that may affect their incidence. Overall, Canadian and Australian firms showed similar incidences of most forms of performance pay, with employee profit sharing the notable exception. Depending on the type and form of performance pay, various factors predicted the incidence of performance pay. As expected, firm size and unionization were among the most important predictors of individual and organizational performance pay, but neither factor predicted group performance pay. The results also indicated that high involvement firms in both Canada and Australia used more organizational performance pay than other firms, but not more group or individual performance pay. This study provides qualified support for convergence in international pay practices, but also highlights the continued importance of contextual and firm-level factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on the employee pay and benefits in various countries. In Australia, workers who have reached their preservation age will be able to draw on their superannuation funds without having to leave their job or retire. In South Korea, government offers pension alternative to severance benefit. In Taiwan, new pension law ushers in new era for employer-sponsored plans. In Great Britain, plan funding shifts from partnership to negotiation. In the Republic of Ireland, employers will have to adapt to new minimum funding rules, along with new plan administration and trustee oversight rules, under the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2005.

Since 1997, the Australian Federal Liberal Government has introduced policies which have sought to reduce rates of unemployment, particularly long-term unemployment. The policy, known as Mutual Obligation, increased the expectations on unemployed people in return for their social security payment. At the same time, previous labour market programmes and government assistance schemes were scrapped or privatised. This article explores the justification of the term 'Mutual Obligation' by examining both the language and the underlying principles of the policy. By defining the problem of unemployment in terms of flaws in the previous social security system, the stage is set for the government to introduce policies which remedy those flaws by emphasising self- reliance in favour of government assistance. Further, by invoking notions of fairness and mutuality, the article argues that the term 'Mutual Obligation' masks both the extent and the strength of the obligations imposed on unemployed people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most jobs secured in supported employment programs for people with disabilities have been found in the private sector. This is in spite of the fact that the public (i.e. government) sector is a significant employer in most countries and usually offers better job stability, salary rates and employment benefits than entry-level positions in the private sector. It has been claimed in the literature that people with disabilities supported in public sector employment would enjoy similar wage and benefit advantages over their counterparts in the private sector workforce. These claims were empirically tested in this study to determine whether similar benefits are available to workers with disabilities in the Australian public sector. Over a period of 18 years, 389 public sector positions secured for people with disabilities by Edge Employment Solutions (a Western Australian supported employment program) have produced significantly superior outcomes in the key areas of hours of work, wages rates and length of employment than have 2,264 private sector positions secured over the same period. This paper reports on these findings and suggests strategies for supported employment programs to improve public sector placement outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consistent with a worldwide trend away from defined benefits towards accumulation benefits, many Australian employers, who traditionally offered their workers defined superannuation benefits, are closing their defined benefit plans to new members and/or offering existing members the option of transferring to an accumulation plan. There has also been a push to allow members greater choice in terms of both funds and investments. Against this background, the Superannuation Scheme for Australian Universities (SSAU) made an offer to its members in 1998 to transfer from the defined benefit section to an accumulation-style plan. Their position was that the choice of fund for employees should be a matter for the employer and the employees at the workplace or their respective representative organisations. At the conclusion of the offer period only one-third of SSAU members had elected to transfer to the Investment Choice Plan (ICP). This study seeks to explain why the majority of SSAU members chose to remain in the Defined Benefit Plan when offered the option of transferring to the accumulation-style ICP. We propose that ‘risk transfer costs’ explain the low ICP acceptance rate. Research findings show that both those who chose to stay in the Defined Benefit Plan (DBP) and those who elected to transfer to the ICP were prepared to accept trade-offs in their choice. DBP members were prepared to forego a higher quantum of expected benefits for greater security of benefits expected in the DBP, whereas the ICP members were prepared to forego such security and accepted higher investment risk in return for a higher expected quantum and greater control over their benefits. Differences in financial proficiency and differences across academic disciplines confirm that risk transfer costs were a key reason why the majority of SSAU members rejected the ICP choice. Important implications arising from this study include the need for greater transparency of the risk transfer costs involved in offers of benefit structure change, such as that offered by the SSAU, and the need to incorporate compensation for such costs into the offer. Cognizance also needs to be taken of the major risk transfer cost of becoming informed about superannuation and the consequences of such costs for the government's intentions to mandate superannuation fund choice for all Australian workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the often-ignored factor of employee reactions to the level and form of executive compensation. It discusses the executive compensation focusing on an executive payment on performance basis. The absence of consistent positive associations between executive compensation and organizational performance may be because there is an implicit assumption that money motivates executives and that employees are unaffected by the level of executive pay. The article argues that executive compensation decision makers need to weigh up the impact of context in setting executive pay structures, the reactions of executives to particular systems of incentives, and the reactions of employees to the increasing pay gap with executives. It suggests that there is a need to set executive compensation in a way that recognizes the limits of the influence of executives. And there is also a need to recognize the impact that executives have on organizations and to provide incentives that encourages executives to take risks for the interests of the organization.

This article discusses the executive compensation focusing mainly on the "mix" issue, as it has by far the greatest impact-both positive and negative-on executive behavior. Discussions around getting the compensation mix right, typically focus on the mix of on-going pecuniary compensation between fixed payments and `at risk' payments; the latter may include short-term incentives and/or long-term incentives. Great risks faced by Chief Executing Officers (CEO) and the growing pressure felt by boards to drive performance, which have substantially increased the at-risk component and the design of the at-risk arrangements has improved markedly. The easiest way to induce a CEO candidate to play would be by giving a large signing bonus--that gets the CEO on board without distorting the other compensation levers. The author states that the inducement of a valuable CEO to stay is heavily driven by non-pecuniary benefits, because successful CEO's are the ones that should stay. Pecuniary compensation has a very small impact because CEO's are much more concerned about the negative signal that leaving after such a short tenure would send.

The article examines the impact of organizational changes on welfare provision in Australia. The article presents a study that uses interviews and surveys with service delivery staff in the Australian employment assistance sector where transformations of this type have recently been sponsored by government. It informs that contemporary theoretical debates point to a transformation of societies and social organisations away from universal forms of mass production and consumption, organised through mass institutions, towards smaller, diversified, entrepreneurial units linked together by new forms of market and network co-ordination. It further informs that this greater diversity is also held to be a feature of service users who require individually fashioned solutions to non-standard problems and tailored products for their different tastes. The large, standardised bureaucracy is seen to give way to decoupled, multiple agency models of service delivery within a new type of welfare state.

Australian employees' preferences for criteria used in pay systems — performance, cost of living, tenure, educational qualification, collective bargaining, skill, market rate, responsibility, and special demands — were explored. The respondents preferred having multiple criteria determine their pay. Performance and responsibility were ranked as the most preferred criteria, and tenure as the least preferred. Preference for pay system was related to age, occupation/position, and level of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the years between 1890 and 1930, silicosis was truly a western dilemma. It was a disease which one study implicated in the deaths of 56% of western miners. It was a hazard noted for its insidiousness, a killer which could hide its presence for up to 20 years. While the disease killed miners by the score, the U.S. lagged behind the rest of the English-speaking world in both prevention and compensation. Silicosis was probably mankind's first occupational disease. The culprit in the case of silicosis was the Rocky Mountains themselves. The same range which blessed the West with pockets of gold, silver and copper also accompanied those pockets with quartz intrusions. Quartz was the most common form of free silica, the mineral directly implicated by science as the cause of silicosis. Drill dust and blast dust combined to provide an almost ideal environment for silicosis in mines with major quartz intrusions. It was the worldwide research effort which could have brought an end to silicosis as early as the mid-1920s. A 1919-1920 strike in Australia's Broken Hill mining district exacerbated in part by reports of widespread silicosis and plumbism convinced New South Wales to enact the Workmen's Compensation Act of 1920, a silicosis compensation statute similar to England's.