Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

I'll turn now to another topic, that is, prescribing the payslips, and it's in relation to one of the amendments that the government has moved. With the payslips, how will this actually work through the businesses payroll services? How do you see it actually working? Did you have any consultation with employers prior to drafting the amendment? More importantly, though, will businesses be penalised, and, in particular, small and family businesses who, again, don't necessarily have that capacity? They don't have an HR department. They're doing it all themselves—probably on Sunday at midnight, wondering if their doors are going to open tomorrow. The point being, if they accidentally include on a payslip information that shows that the employee has accessed or taken paid family and domestic violence leave, what are the penalties the business will face? Will the government be producing guidance materials for small businesses to ensure that they are adequately informed on these issues? Would the businesses have a chance to rectify payslips that do show this information, or would they immediately face penalties? Any businesses, but often small businesses, will actually outsource their payroll, for example, to an external accountant. Who would then be responsible—the small business or the external accountant—in the event that, on the payslip, it states family and domestic violence leave?