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Episode 69
124 Plays4 months ago
News for the week beginning 8 July 2024 and Question of the Week: "Are employee side hustles a good or bad thing?"
#RNA #RecruitmentPodcast #RecruitmentNewsAustralia
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Transcript
Introduction and Weekly News
00:00:09
Speaker
This is the news for the week beginning the 8th of July 2024. I'm Ross Clennet, minus Adele, who's having a week off.
Collar Group's Return to Founder
00:00:19
Speaker
Last Tuesday, creditors voted to return control of Collar Group to its founder Ephraim Stevenson. They approved his deed of company arrangement in which current and former employees will eventually receive their full entitlements as long as the company continues to operate. An alternative DOCA proposed that Charlie Massarella's mass resources, a WA-based mining and construction recruitment and a labour high business, would take over the Collar business and provide a better return to creditors. The mass resources non-binding and conditional DOCA submitted less than 24 hours before the creditors meeting was not recommended to the creditors by Collar's lead administrator David Ross and was unsuccessful.
Restructuring and Financial Plans at Collar
00:00:59
Speaker
Formal control will revert to Stevenson once the administrators have completed the DOCA formalities, which are expected to be within the next two weeks. Stevenson says in a statement reported by industry news service shortlist, during this difficult period, our people have continued to provide full service to our clients and candidates. The approval of the DOCA and the guaranteed backing of our major financier gives us renewed confidence in our business. The intention now is to continue to work with our advisors to reshape and refine our business to emerge a stronger and more sustainable operation moving forward.
Wage Breaches in Sunshine Coast
00:01:34
Speaker
The Fair Work Ombudsman has recovered more than $223,000 for 447 underpaid food outlet employees on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland following surprise inspections. Fair Work inspectors investigated 21 businesses in the Sunshine Coast fast food restaurant and cafe sector, a mix of high-end restaurants and cheap eats venues across the suburbs of Noosa Heads, Sunrise Beach and Noosaville. Of the 19 investigations finalised, the Ombudsman found workplace law breaches in 68% of food outlets. The most common breach was under payment of or failure to pay various types of penalty rates, 14 businesses, followed by a failure to pay correct minimum wages for ordinary hours, 11 businesses. Over time, six businesses
00:02:19
Speaker
leave six businesses and record keeping breaches five businesses. The highest amount recovered from any one business was $105,000 for 99 employees, mostly casual waitstaff and kitchen staff and a mix of adults and juniors who are underpaid their overtime hours and penalty rates.
Nine Entertainment Job Cuts
00:02:39
Speaker
Nine Entertainment has become the third Australian publisher to announce mass layoffs in the past four weeks following the loss of a lucrative content deal with meta and a slump in the advertising market. On the last day of the financial year, the newspaper owner and TV broadcaster said it would cut 200 rolls or about 4% of its nearly 5,000 staff. Nine Chief Executive Mike Sneesby told staff in a memo that the business was in a stronger position than any of its rivals but it was not immune to economic headwinds impacting many companies globally. Some of the job losses would come from axing vacant positions and new roles would be found for some of those whose current positions were being made redundant. Others would be made redundant.
00:03:21
Speaker
The Australian Financial Review, a NINE publication, reported that between 70 and 90 positions would go from its publishing business, which also includes the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, and another 38 jobs will be cut from TV news and current affairs with the remainder from corporate and digital. NINE's announcement is a third major set of redundancies by a major Australian media outlet in recent weeks following the loss of the $70 million dollars meta deal.
Impact of AI on Employment
00:03:49
Speaker
Voice actors say they're on the precipice of their work being replaced completely by artificial intelligence, with corporate and radio roles already beginning to be replaced by cheap, generative AI clones. The Australian Association of Voice Actors told a parliamentary committee investigating AI that jobs of an estimated 5,000 local voice actors are already in danger, with the group pointing to one national radio network actively investing in technology to replace human voice actors. In its submission, the group criticized the development as a disappointing move from a player in an industry that has relied on voice artists to bring quality, credibility and humanity to their medium for over 100 years. A recently formed associations president Simon Kennedy told Guardian Australia the advent of AI and its impact on the voice industry was partly the catalyst for setting up the group, but says that they're not anti tech and they're certainly not anti AI.
00:04:45
Speaker
The group, he said, just wants fair rules around how the technology will be used and protection for people's voices against being misused by AI. He said the canary in the coal mine for voice actors will be audio books. Audio books are the front line because of the volume of material and the perceived cost savings that the companies that create them think they'll make, he said. Companies may come to regret the lack of human connection if the voice reading a book is AI, Kennedy concluded. When it's an AI voice, I think they're going to find people just don't bother with their audio books anymore. They're just like, I'm feeling nothing.
00:05:23
Speaker
Nearly two thirds of graduates globally think AI will make it more difficult to secure the job they want. However, at the same time, two thirds think AI is important to the success of their desired career path, according to the CFA Institute. Further, the data from the 9,916 respondents studying for a bachelor's degree or higher showed that 92% of graduates believe knowing how to use AI would benefit their career prospects. Meanwhile, 78% of graduates are confident in their future career prospects today. This is higher than the 75% figure last year. The finance industry is the top industry where graduates are confident in their career prospects with confidence increasing compared to last year. On the other hand, education and healthcare graduates
00:06:09
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reported a slight decrease in their career prospects.
Uber and Lyft Settle Wage Violations
00:06:15
Speaker
Uber Technologies and Lyft reached a settlement with the state of Massachusetts, the Attorney General's office announced in late June. The ride-sharing firms will pay a combined US$175 million to resolve allegations they violated Massachusetts' wage and hour laws. Uber and Lyft also agreed to pay drivers a standard of US$32.50 per hour and provide a suite of benefits. The settlement is a win for Uber and Lyft as the firm set sort for years to reach deals that will provide drivers with new benefits while continuing to classify them as independent contractors, according to Bloomberg. According to the Attorney General's office, Uber will pay $148 million of the settlement and Lyft will pay $27 million. dollars Most of the funds will go to drivers. Today's agreement holds lou Uber and Lyft accountable and provides their drivers for the very first time in Massachusetts guaranteed minimum pay,
00:07:07
Speaker
paid sick pay, occupational accident insurance and health care stipends," Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said in a press release.
Airtasker and Randstad's Strategic Moves
00:07:18
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B2C talent platform Air Tasker has raised $5 million dollars in media capital from Australian broadcast and on-demand audio company ARN Media Ltd. The partnership aims to accelerate Airtasker's media partnership strategy to boost brand awareness in Australia. The agreement follows Airtasker's $6.7 million dollars Channel 4 media partnership in the UK last June. Airtasker CEO Tim Fong said in a press release that the partnership with Channel 4 is already delivering results. This resurgence in brand investment in Australia follows two years of reduced and predominantly digital marketing spend. Airtasker will support this increased brand
00:07:57
Speaker
focus through continued and complementary online marketing strategies, including search and social. Airtasker will access ARN's extensive Australian network of 58 radio stations. Fun said the ARN audience numbers will amplify the stories that come with millions of tasks completed each year in the Airtasker community.
00:08:20
Speaker
Ransad, the world's largest staffing firm, is to combine its Mondstadt job board business with Career Builder's job board business. Through the combination of Mondstadt Career Builder, we'll bring together two trusted brands and best-in-house solutions to create a stronger job board for our talent and employers, Mondstadt CEO Scott Good said in the press release. Existing Career Builder investors will hold a controlling interest in the joint venture. Ransad will retain a minority interest. The deal is subject to regulatory approval.
June Job Market Analysis
00:08:51
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The United States labor market is in June with 206,000 jobs added to the US s economy. The number of new jobs is close to what economists had expected for the month. The figures represent a slight cooling compared to May when the economy added a revised 218,000 jobs. The unemployment rate in June was 4.1%, a 0.1 percentage point increase from May and the first time the US unemployment rate has been above 4% since early 2022.
00:09:22
Speaker
And that's the news for the week beginning the 8th of July, 2024. I'm Ross Clannett.
Are Employee Side Hustles Problematic?
00:09:32
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um
00:09:38
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Question of the Week this week is prompted by an article I read recently about a US schoolteacher who left her high school teaching job because she had an only fans site that was raking in allegedly more than a million dollars a year and it was causing quite a bit of consternation in the school community. She then accepted another job and then she was fired a couple of weeks later for breaching that company's social media policy when they found out about her OnlyFans site. So Adele, question of the week this week, are employee side hustles good or bad?
00:10:25
Speaker
Well, an OnlyFans site's quite a side hustle, really. Let's just be clear here. yeah Anyone who doesn't know about OnlyFans, Google it, you'll quickly learn what it's about. um But it's, yeah, I mean, that's quite a side hustle. But look, to be clear about, I guess, defining side hustle, ah it can mean different things. But generally speaking, it's about having ah another job potentially or another enterprise or some other um
00:10:56
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commercial entity interest outside of your normal core job, your normal core paid career job. Income earning is what you're defining it as. Yes, we're not talking about volunteer work. We're not talking about um you know helping out at the school or what have you. We're talking about that it has a commercial you know revenue fee earning kind of capacity, but it's outside of your job. So you're a recruiter by day, And you're a God forbid and only fans host at night. But anyway, right. okay fine so let's So let's create a dividing line here. Let's talk about jobs for second jobs as distinct from a commercial entrepreneurial exercise. For example, only fans. So firstly, if an employee is taking a second job, do they need to declare it?
00:11:48
Speaker
Well, this is a really interesting one because I think there's probably some arguments for both sides. Look, I've been an employee all my life until more recently in the last sort of four or five years where I've had my own business now. But prior to that, for the most part of my career, I've been an employee. And for the most part of my career, I've always had a side hustle. um I think actually right even back at school when I was in high school, I started, you know, social commercial enterprises on the side while I was still at school. I was always trying to find ways to start business ideas and business operations. And it's followed all the way through my career, as I said, the whole time I've been a recruiter. And in fact, one a side hustle that I had actually led to a significant promotion as a recruiter. I was working um for a company for some time and
00:12:40
Speaker
ah And then I had a period of leave was maternity leave. And I went off on maternity leave. And in that time, I set up and and set up my side hustle and had it going in the background. And when I went to return to recruitment, I said to my employer, ah my own little side hustle is kind of kicking along nicely, maybe I'll only come back part time. And he said, Well, if you're ready to run a business, come and run my business. He actually gave me a significant promotion. Right. So you'd set up a business. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. What sort of business? It was actually kids clothing because I was, I'd had a baby, I was at home. So I had this other kids clothing business, totally unrelated to recruitment. It was right wholesale and retail and manufacturing, you know, clothing. So it was very, very different. Uh, I didn't declare it until such time as I was coming back to work. And as I said, and then my employer said,
00:13:30
Speaker
hang in a minute, if you're that ready to run a business that it's going that well, I've been wanting to talk to you about coming in and running the recruitment business. So I want to give you a promotion. And it led to that conversation of me having, you know, a further career path in recruitment, in fact. So I think they're a good thing. But ah the declaration element, I think it just depends. Some things are totally unrelated to the job that you're doing. And I kind of feel like why should you have to declare it? Unless there is a conflict of interest or there's some sort of blurred line there, obviously. Okay. So I'll be the devil's advocate here. So let's take the only fans site. Now, if you've got an employee who has an only fan site, I'm sure they're thinking, okay, let's say they're a recruiter. This has nothing to do with my job as a recruiter because I'm running this adult content website on the side. I'm not.
00:14:27
Speaker
doing anything during my working day to do with that site. I'm producing the content in the evenings or on the weekends. But what if the employer who might be very conservative and if they found out would regard that employee's only fan site as potentially undermining the credibility of her or his business? Like where does that stand? Because the employer might think, well, I've got every right to know because you're identifiable on this site. You are an employee of mine. You're listed on our website or your LinkedIn page may list you. Don't wear your corporate shirt on your LinkedIn. I get your point. And yeah, look, you know this is where it it does get a little dicey because it comes down to not just
00:15:24
Speaker
you I mentioned conflict of interest and we always think about that as a financial impact to a business, but there is a reputational impact. So a conflict of interest could have a reputational impact on your business. And I guess from that perspective, you have to be aware of it and you know I guess be upfront and communicate with your employer about what you're doing outside of it. Okay, so another another tricky one. So let's say I'm a Jewish employer. And I have an employee whose side hustle is free Palestine t-shirts. So I'm selling those t-shirts on the side. Do I have an obligation to tell my employer? And if my employer finds out, is that protected? Like is that.
00:16:16
Speaker
a political stance that should be protected. Am I employer? Although, of course, they probably do care. they They shouldn't technically care because it doesn't impact my work. Like, how do you navigate something like that? ah You're getting so spicy today, Ross. how to do with these ah But that's a really interesting one because that comes down to personal ah bias and opinion and and you know political position and religious positions and all sorts of things there. So I guess you know as an owner of a business, you would like to think that you've got the full right to employ who you like, how you like within the context of the law, of course, but
00:16:55
Speaker
you know, employ who you like, and if they don't fit with the organization's value, so to speak, you would say, well, this person's not right for our organization. But let's say that person doesn't bring any of their political views about Palestine into the workplace. Let's say they never mention it, yeah but this person has this business on the side, like yeah like I would have thought that surely the, um I mean, let let's just also say neither of us are lawyers. So this does in no way constitute legal advice. Like ah that employer, I can't imagine has grounds to fire that employee because of that, if the employee clearly is not bringing politics into the workplace in a way that's undermining the mission or the productivity of um the workplace.
00:17:45
Speaker
But that's why that article that you referenced at the start is so interesting because the teacher was fired. Her employer said, this is not appropriate for you as a teacher to have the only fan site. Well, hang on, hang on. She resigned from her job as a teacher. It was her other, the next job that she took in the local health service. So they fired her. The school did not fire her. She was still fired. She was fired by an employer for their views about her side hustle. So I guess that that's a really interesting one. you know Is a side hustle good or bad? It actually depends what the hustle is. That's what we're really saying here because if it is something that could be controversial or offensive or political in nature or likely to offend or cause reputational damage or you know like there's so many variances to that, um you can't say whether they're good or bad if you don't know what it is.
00:18:39
Speaker
Well, I think we can be very clear about something that you as an employee should not ever start a recruitment side hustle if your main job is a recruitment consultant because that potentially could be seen as undermining your employer's business. Even if you're recruiting in a completely different area, I think that is absolutely a no-go zone. or Or any similar service. yeah It could even be resume advice. It could be you know any anything that we do within the the realms of being a recruiter, you have to be really careful with, of course. so
00:19:16
Speaker
That's a given. I think we we kind of get that clearly, but it's these ones that are really left of center. Like I said, my children's clothing business and you know other things that I've had through my through my whole life have had nothing to do with recruitment. you know That's what I'm saying. Why should I have to declare it? I did in most cases because I didn't have anything to hide and I would share it sometimes in the context of ah of you know the like my colleagues were my customers as well. in some cases. so you know I was openly ah sharing what I was selling, but at the same time, you know I don't know that it's you know employees really have to do that.
00:19:56
Speaker
Yeah, well, I've got to say you're certainly far more entrepreneurial than me, Adele. Not only did I never have a side hustle, I never even thought about having a side hustle. So I don't know whether that meant that I earned enough money from my recruitment job or my recruitment job tied me out that I couldn't be bothered thinking about anything else as a hustle side hustle outside of work. ah i'm not I'm not really sure. But um I'd imagine, particularly in this day and age, where Obviously, the internet provides so many opportunities for people to have a side hustle that it is something that employers, if they're not thinking about or have in some way outlined the company's policy in letters of offer or terms of employment, they certainly should be doing so.
Guidance on Employee Side Hustles
00:20:43
Speaker
Yeah, I think to wrap it up, some really good advice would be around if you're an employee with a side hustle,
00:20:48
Speaker
Consider declaring it and being upfront because always being upfront and on the front foot of these things is going to be better. Even though I'm saying you don't have to, I still think that's a better choice to make and respectful to your employer. If you're an employee, it's worth considering having a look at your contracts. I know in one company I worked in, we did have it as a requirement that employees had to declare any work that they were doing outside of normal business hours and declare it to the company. So check your contracts. But also just be really careful of putting a fair filter over what the person's doing. Because just because you don't agree with it, or you don't like it, or you don't think it's an honourable thing to be doing, doesn't mean that that's you know not for the other person to do. So that's my final advice.
00:21:32
Speaker
Right. And my final advice, of course, the deal is nothing that we've discussed today constitutes legal advice. So please, ah for any of you that have questions about this, do not contact Adele or myself because we are not qualified to give you advice. Please contact your favourite employment lawyer.
Subscription and Contact Information
00:21:52
Speaker
To stay up to date with every episode of Recruitment News Australia, subscribe via our website recruitmentnewsaustralia.com.au, follow our LinkedIn page, Recruitment News Australia, and subscribe via your favourite podcast app. For more details about my services, simply go to rossclenet.com. And for more information about what's happening on my desk, you can visit careerlassoo.com.
00:22:22
Speaker
or the captainstable dot.com.au website.