unpaid

Do you have any Unclaimed Money?

In New South Wales, any unclaimed money is generally held by the Revenue NSW.

Unclaimed money is generally any amount in excess of $100 held for at least 6 years without any activity on an account. This may be because the owner moved, changed their name or simply forgot about it.

Types of unclaimed money held by Revenue NSW include dividends, unpresented cheques, distributions, sale proceeds, commissions, royalties and the like.

Generally, enterprises that operate in NSW and hold unclaimed money as at 30 June in any year must submit the money to Revenue NSW by 31 October of that year, after having made reasonable attempts to contact the rightful owner and return the money to them.

Other thresholds and timeframes apply to specific industries such as real estate agents, law firms and trustee companies that operate trust accounts.

You can search for money held by Revenue NSW here.

Unpaid wages

Sometimes an employer owes wages to an employee who has left their business or where wages have found to be underpaid following a workplace audit.

Where the employee can’t be contacted, the unpaid wages are generally held by the Fair Work Ombudsman and can be searched for here.

Superannuation

Superannuation funds that cannot locate beneficiaries of superannuation monies place the details on the Superannuation Lost Members Register, which can be searched through the MyGov portal via Australian Taxation Office’s website here.

Banks and life insurers

Banks, credit unions and life insurance companies also have unclaimed money issues where a bank account is inactive (has no deposits or withdrawals) for 7 years or where the proceeds of a life insurance policy is unclaimed for 7 years after the policy matures.

Where they can’t locate an owner of funds held, they must lodge their unclaimed monies with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission.

Unclaimed money received by ASIC is transferred to the Commonwealth of Australia Consolidated Revenue Fund and it is available to be claimed at any time by the rightful owner and there is no time limit on claims. ASIC’s unclaimed money search is located at ASIC’s MoneySmart website here.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information in relation to unclaimed money or any business related legal issues, please contact McKillop Legal on (02) 9521 2455 or email help@mckilloplegal.com.au 

This information is general only and is not a substitute for proper legal advice. Please contact McKillop Legal to discuss your needs.

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in Business / Commercial Law / Debt Recovery / Employment / General  by 01 Dec 2020 0 comments

Unpaid interns

Typically, unpaid internships offer a taste of what is usually involved in a job or industry, as well as the chance to network and to add practical experience to their resume.

Many businesses however seek to avoid paying lawful entitlements to employees by labelling them an “intern” or calling it a “vocational placement” or similar. In law firms (yes, they do it too), it’s a “law clerk”.

The fact is that if they are performing productive work for your business, they are an employee and are therefore legally entitled to be paid.

Before engaging an unpaid intern, business owners need to genuinely consider if the placement is providing them with work experience, a career opportunity and take steps to avoid the arrangement being considered exploitation. That is, are they really an unpaid employee?

To determine whether the arrangement is ‘employment’ ask yourself these questions about the proposed intern:

  1. Will they have actual responsibilities (as opposed to just observing)?
  2. Will their workload be similar to a paid employee?
  3. Will the intern replace a paid employee?
  4. Will the intern have administration duties?
  5. Will the intern collect coffee orders?
  6. Does your business rely on interns for ongoing duties?

If you answered “yes” to any of the above, they are assisting your business, not learning, so it is likely that your unpaid interns will actually be employees and hence entitled to minimum Award rates.

Even if you will genuinely have unpaid interns at your workplace, they should have a contract (although not an employment contract) covering that fact and requiring them to maintain standards such as confidentiality, returning company property at the completion of the placement etc.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information in relation to any employment related issue or any business/commercial law matter, contact McKillop Legal on (02) 9521 2455 or email help@mckilloplegal.com.au 

This information is general only and is not a substitute for proper legal advice. Please contact McKillop Legal to discuss your needs.

Stay up to date – LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

in Business / Commercial Law / Dispute Resolution / Employment / General / Risk management / Superannuation  by 01 Sep 2020 0 comments