On November 26, 2020, the High Court granted special leave to RCSA member WorkPac to appeal the decision of the Full Federal Court in WorkPac v Rossato, that allowed for some casual employees to claim permanent employee entitlements. This is a welcome development for not just the Australian staffing industry, but for all industries. The decision in WorkPac v Rossato in May this year tested business confidence and caused enormous uncertainty for employers and employees alike, at a time when businesses were already grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. In finding for Rossato, the Full Federal Court ignored the fact that casual employees are paid a 25% loading in lieu o

This week, two food delivery drivers were killed in Australia. Since September, five riders have died on our roads. Five families have not been paid entitlements following these work-related deaths. As the peak body for the recruitment and staffing industry, RCSA, has been advocating for better regulation of gig work platforms, and protection of their workers, for many years, so all Australians can work safely and with fundamental protections. For eight years now, RCSA’s Chief Executive Officer Charles Cameron has raised these matters with the Fair Work Ombudsman. Well before unions and government. It is now time for something to be done by law makers. Gig workers must have access to fundame

By Simon Smith, CEO and Founder of Southern Cross Coaching & Development Do you speak ‘Team-ese’ or ‘Boss-ese’? When I was an officer in the British Royal Air Force, I proudly focused totally on leading my teams. Through my then idealistic leadership lens it was the most important thing. And of course it IS - never, ever lose sight of that. However, I was blind to another essential aspect of leadership: managing up. Whatever level you’re at, we ALL have to manage up – consultant to team lead/manager…manager to director…even the CEO to the Board. It’s a critical capability that needs to be consciously and continually developed, at every level of the organisation. I wish I’d realised the impor

By Justin Hillier, CEO and founder of Recruiter Insider Interviews are never easy, we all get nervous and we all worry about how we are going to answer particular questions. And once they are done, they are more of a relief than a feeling of success. There is no doubt interviews are the most important part of the recruitment process that candidates fear the most. But they also have the most influence on the final outcome. But what about the other side of the table? Those running and setting the tone of the interview itself, the hiring manager. An interview is a two-way street. While for many it might feel like they are in an interrogation session, there is a responsibility of the hiring mana

Prime Super has an experienced team of regional managers and member service managers. Regional managers have helped members and employers understand super and to get the most out of their fund. Meet one of our regional managers from Victoria, George Frangeskakis. Q: Tell us about George Frangeskakis outside of work. What are your interests and hobbies? I love spending time with my wife, family, and friends. As ‘Uncle Fun’ I also cherish time with my adorable niece and two nephews. My wife and I love walking together along the beach, in the country, down a groovy shopping strip, or in the concrete jungle of Melbourne. Born in Melbourne, I love its history. I spend many hours walking its stree

RCSA is delighted to announce this year’s Christmas charity partner, non-profit organisation, Orange Sky. The team at RCSA is very proud to support the vital efforts of Orange Sky in supporting people experiencing homelessness. We asked them more questions about their important work. Tell us a bit about Orange Sky and how the business serves communities? Orange Sky is a non-profit organisation providing free mobile laundry and shower services to people experiencing homelessness. Each week, thousands of volunteers give their time to help positively connect some of the 116,000 Australians doing it tough. The focus is on creating a safe, positive and supportive environment for people who are to

Director of SMAART Recruitment agency, Maarten Roosenburg, dreamed of one day becoming a pilot, but little did he know it wouldn’t be planes he’d be operating, but large blue-chip businesses that needed elevating to new heights. The Melbourne based businessman has worked the coastline across his career with SMAART now being headquartered in Melbourne and expanding into Brisbane, Sydney and Adelaide, and delivering specialist services in placing temporary and permanent staff across contact centre, sales, marketing and office support roles. “After leaving university, I really struggled to land an interview and realised how oversaturated my chosen fields were with graduates trying to find work.

by Nitha Coetzer, Founder and CEO of iMaven Innovation! What a buzzword. We hear about it and read about it daily, so much so we feel pressured to be part of this “Innovation thing” or we may miss out! But what is innovation and why should we care? If you ask Google for a definition, you get more than 300 million results, however its own definition is: “The action or process of innovating.” Not that helpful! The Oxford dictionary isn’t much help either: “Make changes in something established, especially by introducing new methods, ideas or products.” That said, should we adopt innovation for the sake of being seen as innovators? Nick Skillicorn, CEO and Founder of Improvides Consulting, amon

By Jason Brennan Director of Wellbeing and Leadership at Wrkit Now that 2020 is gradually coming to a close and we look ahead into 2021, it is with some relief that a most strange and unusual year is winding up. November and December is traditionally a time of reflection and assessment, looking back on the year that has been and thinking about the future and what next year might bring. For all businesses and member associations 2020 has brought about a lot of difficulties and uncertainty and everyone has worked hard to dig in and effectively respond to the challenges that Covid 19 brought. Individuals, leaders, business sectors and member associations have had to respond very quickly and be

by Tim Forsyth, Operations Manager, EncoreNZ EncoreNZ is a recruitment specialist in the Industrial and Manufacturing sectors, providing long term staffing solutions throughout New Zealand. Operating from our base in Mt Maunganui, it was becoming increasingly difficult to provide the level of care to our clients that we had always been proud to offer. This was due mainly to our sector growth and our need to always be at the ready to fully mobilise for recruit drives. For some time our Director, Teisha Pihama, had been considering that there had to be something in a digital format that would allow our team to create work opportunities while also creating rapid turnaround times for clients. Ho

To support Mental Wellness Week in NZ, a group of RCSA NZ members joined in on a 5-part RESET Challenge led by Growth Facilitator and Keynote speaker Kirsten Leng from Infinitus Professional Development. Kirsten kindly donated her time and expertise in facilitating the challenge to the RCSA and our members as a way of saying thank you, and also to support us in these times of change. The 5-day Reset Challenge was designed to help our members to ‘take back the controls and reset’. Each morning for five days, members spent 30 minutes taking on that day’s ‘Reset Challenge’. The purpose was about receiving an inspiration injection;  each participant took the time to become re-energised and laser

By Herman Visagie Walking a mile in someone's shoes is advice that is as old as time. From the Bible, to stalwarts of self-help like Dale Carnegie and modern-day sages like Brené Brown we are constantly reminded that spending time looking at a situation from another person’s point of view is not only a key way to build connection and understanding, but also a valuable tool for us to reflect on ourselves as well. And as I sit here writing this I reflect on the American election, and the increasing divides that we are seeing, a phenomenon that Brené Brown described as America’s crisis of disconnection. And let’s be honest, its one that we are seeing around the world. With all of this in mind,

RCSA is excited to announce a series of face-to-face networking events in New Zealand this month to celebrate the end of 2020. Foster Hope Charitable Trust founder and chairperson Louise Burnie will be guest speaker at the Gather in Auckland event on Wednesday, November 11. There are more than 6000 children in foster care in New Zealand and Foster Hope believes every child deserves to know their community cares about them. Louise will talk about how the charity has grown from its early days in 2010 to now having eight branches of volunteers throughout New Zealand. Attendees of the November 11 event are invited to support Foster Hope's Christmas Gift Drive by bringing along a gift for a vulne