Small Business Attitude to Modern Awards
10th September 2014
The Fair Work Commission has published a research report it commissioned on the attitude of small business owners to modern awards. The objective of the research - Citizen Co-Design With Small Business Owners, was to understand the attitude and behaviour of small businesses toward the usage and usability of modern awards.
The researchers adopted what it termed, the principles of citizen co-design to explore the usability of modern awards by considering matters relating to their format, content structure, language, and usability (known as ‘information architecture’).
Not surprisingly, participants in the research found the modern awards:
- Convoluted… Too long and unwieldy, suggesting a time intensive and difficult process.
- Complex… The language was difficult to understand, with ‘legalese’ and jargon.
- Ambiguous… Information provided was not clear, requiring too much interpretation.
- Of questionable relevance… Difficult to identify which award was most relevant when employees’ roles varied and did not clearly fit into a single industry.
- Not for them… Written for the benefit of “bureaucrats and lawyers”, with no consideration of end-user needs or capability.
There was very little confidence in the current modern awards. This lack of certainty was disempowering for small business owners in the study, and had led to some active avoidance.