“ I work from home and love the flexibility it gives me to look after the business and my family at the same time. However, I must admit that I am finding it a bit difficult to cope with being so isolated. Most people interact with others at work, but I can't. I also find it hard to separate work from home. Do you have any suggestions? ”

 Our suggested answer is:   

Time management

You tend to achieve more if you structure your working day. For example:

• Decide on a starting and finishing time for your day.
• Schedule in planned interruptions such as meal breaks and school runs.
• Allow for unplanned interruptions, for example, sick children.
• Group certain types of tasks together; for example, site visits, book-keeping, correspondence, ordering and preparing quotes.
• Place a schedule up in the kitchen so all the family know when to leave you alone (except, of course, in case of emergencies).

Physically separate work and home

• Dedicate a separate room or separate area of a room for your home office.
• Furnish your home office appropriately – don’t just use your couch and coffee table. Try to at least have a table and chair that is only used for office work.
• Have a separate telephone line for business calls.
• Always close off the office area at the end of the day.
• Once you have left the “office” divert your phone to an answering machine or service.
• Dress for work.

Make time to network

This is important not only from a social point of view, but it also helps your business. Apart from feeling less isolated, the benefits of networking may not become immediately apparent. However, many business opportunities can arise because you ‘know someone who knows someone’. Someone you may have met may show you a better way of doing something, or they may give you some new ideas that will help your business.

 

Look after your own wellbeing

Don’t think of looking after yourself as a luxury, but as a necessity! Ensure you make time to engage in activities that you enjoy, whether it be going to the gym, getting your hair done, visiting friends or simply listening to music. You will feel much better for it, and you’ll find yourself breezing through your day.

  

You asked:

“ I am advised by the A T O that employers are required to lodge their employee’s 9% SGC as a minimum Quarterly (by the 28th of the following month).

 

However 2 of the 5 funds nominated by our employees into which we lodge quarterly are telling us we have a legal requirement to lodge their SGC monthly – they quote this is a legal requirement under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993.

 

Who is right? What should we be doing – quarterly or monthly?

 

Thanks for this Q & A facility” 

 Our suggested answer is:   

Introduction

 

Employers are obliged to make superannuation guarantee contributions on behalf of each of their employees. “Employees” includes “labour only” or “substantially labour only” contractors.

 

Superannuation guarantee contributions are calculated as 9% of the employee’s “ordinary time earnings” and are paid by an employer directly to the employee’s superannuation fund.

 

How Often Do I Have to Make Superannuation Contributions?

 

At the very minimum, an employer must pay superannuation contributions to a super fund every quarter. The due date for each quarter is as follows:

 

Quarter	Due Date
1 January to 31 March	28 April
1 April to 30 June	28 July
1 Jul to 30 September	28 October
1 October to 31 December	28 January

 

Employers may be required, by an award or by a super fund’s trust deed, to pay those contributions more often.

 

An employer is required to comply with the terms of an award because the terms of the award represent the minimum conditions of employment that are required by law.

 

An employer will be required by law to comply with the terms of a trust deed if they have agreed to pay superannuation contributions into that super fund (for example, under the “Choice of Super” laws).

 

The Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993

 

This is separate from any obligation the employer has to make compulsory contributions on behalf of its employees.

 

This Act only deals with a very specific situation, namely, where an employee has requested the employer to pay some of his or her after tax (or “nett”) wages into his or her superannuation fund.

 

If your employee has asked the employer to make such a payment, then the employer must make that payment by the 28^th day of the following month.

 

An example:

 

Employer A pays Employee B an annual wage of $26,000.00, which is paid on a fortnightly basis:

 

                                      Gross Wage                        $1,000.00

          Less:                    PAYG                                        110.00

          Equals:                 Nett Wage                          _ $890.00

 

Employer A has offered Employee B “Choice of Super”, and Employee B has chosen Super Fund C. Employee B has also asked Employer A to take $50.00 out of each fortnightly pay and send that to Super Fund C. Let’s say that Super Fund C requires fortnightly payments.

 

Employer A is obliged to send the following payments to Super Fund C:

• Superannuation Guarantee Contribution of $90 (being 9% of gross wages) per fortnight; and
• $100 or $150 per month (depending on whether the month contains 2 or 3 pay days), by the 28^th of the following month.