Anna Pannuzzo

6 HR hotspots for OT practice owners to review

Being proactive about cyber security helps protect your business from potential risks.

Paying incorrect allowances and entitlements under the HPSS Award is a common wage theft hotspot for practice owners.

Wage theft is an HR hotspot under the HPSS Award.

This article provides best practice tips to mitigate the risk of workplace disputes and claims.

This article provides occupational therapists with a broad overview of minimum employment entitlements, and alerts practice owners and sole traders to some recent legislative updates impacting their obligations.

Transitioning from being an employee to starting your own allied health practice requires careful consideration of various HR factors to ensure a smooth professional exit from your current workplace and successful establishment of your own business.

In recent legislative reforms, the term “positive duty” appears in two different yet connected areas. One stems from anti-discrimination laws and the other stems from work, health and safety (WHS) regulations. This article gives a brief overview of both areas with key considerations for speech pathology practice owners, sole traders and independent contractors.

A snapshot of some common unconscious biases in the workplace.

In order to foster diversity, equity and inclusion, it’s important to be able to identify unconscious biases in the workplace, challenge them, and learn about fair and equitable work practices.

Practice owners and their staff each have rules to follow regarding employee leave. This article focuses on some key HR hotspots regarding paid annual leave and unpaid parental leave.

HR reminders for speech pathology practice owners to navigate the festive season and ensure a smooth start to the new year.

Interview with WorkPlacePLUS Founding Director Anna Pannuzzo

Vaccination record keeping requirements in Victoria have recently changed.

This article outlines the six key workplace policies that private practice owners or sole traders must have in their HR protocols. In addition, employees or independent contractors should expect to be able to access and understand these policies.

Understanding Restraint of Trade Clauses in Employee Employment Contracts and Independent
Contractor Agreements

TikTok users are using AI apps to transform selfies into professional headshots.

WorkPlacePLUS has developed a checklist of key dates and compliance reminders to support practice owners and healthcare providers to keep track of their employer obligations in relation to the rollout of recent legislative changes.

Changes to temporary workplace shutdowns in modern awards.

Important changes to the Health Professionals and Support Services Award.

OTA spoke with WorkPlacePLUS on mitigating the risk of a data breach and what to do if a breach occurs.

This article focuses on a common HR hot-spot for practice owners who are engaging staff: working arrangements.

Some of the key workplace factors to consider with preparing your practice for the festive season.

Key HR considerations on the risks and benefits of digital technology in your practice.

The effective management of new employees is paramount to the success of your private practice. Find out what you need to do in this article.

Why did an employee resign? Do you know the REAL reason?

With vaccination mandates being lifted across a range of industries in most states and territories, the onus is on individual workplaces to manage their vaccination and infection control policies.

Fatigue is more than feeling tired and drowsy. According to Safe Work Australia, it’s an acute or ongoing state of mental or physical exhaustion. There are three types of workplace fatigue, which are important to look out for, particularly given the amount of stress aged care workers have faced over the past two years. With appropriate intervention and focused action, employers can help manage workplace fatigue and minimise its impact.

Whether you are a practice owner who employs staff, a sole trader, an employee, or an independent contractor, it is important to have a clear understanding of the HR protocols that apply to your business or working arrangement.

Managing staff in a private practice comes with its challenges. It is important for practice owners and managers to recognise the common red flags of staff performance and be able to ascertain whether you are dealing with poor performance, poor behavioural conduct, or a mental health issue such as work-related stress or burnout.

Options and considerations for attracting and retaining allied health staff

The pandemic has thrust the issue of work-related mental stress to the forefront for employers, particularly those in the health and social services sectors. A clear, well communicated workplace mental health policy is one example of an effective control measure that disability service providers can use to protect their workforce from the health and safety risks associated with workplace stress.

We now know that aged care facilities are considered high-risk settings due to COVID-19. It is important for aged care service providers to be proactive about protecting the mental health and wellbeing of their staff. This article includes tips for managers and supervisors to protect themselves and their staff from work-related stress and burnout.

When employees are working remotely, this can add a layer of complexity to facilitating difficult work conversations.

Employers and employees (including contractors) each have responsibilities to consider and conversations to have when an employee is ready to resign.

Best practice advice for the proper handling of workplace issues and concerns.

This article provides best practice advice on some of the current workplace concerns being faced by practice owners.

To improve WHS compliance and enhance workplace wellness, there are a range of practical HR tools and strategies that practice owners can consider. A workplace mental health policy provides clear rules and guidance on how the practice manages employee mental health.

One of the most common business challenges of running a health practice is keeping up with changes to pay rates and employment legislation. This article highlights recent compliance updates and common HR pitfalls to be aware of.

It is important to know your role and responsibilities when looking to be employed as an occupational therapist.

This article summarises the employment obligations that allied health practice owners need to be aware of when preparing to engage an allied health assistant (AHA).

Exploring the link between leadership and culture. The three key elements of the manager's role.

Attending to the workplace culture should be a regular part of every organisation's risk management plan.

To help protect your staff from burnout, private practice owners can incorporate the key considerations in this article into your workplace mental health strategy...

Proper handling of workplace issues

“Procedural fairness” is the best practice way of handling workplace conflict. Following procedural fairness is not only ethical, it also helps mitigate business risk.

Employers who engage in poor workplace practices run the risk of much more than having to pay a penalty for unfair dismissal, along with the cost associated with defending the claim.

Discover the key elements of procedural fairness for workplace issues, plus poor… Show more

Proper handling of workplace issues

“Procedural fairness” is the best practice way of handling workplace conflict. Following procedural fairness is not only ethical, it also helps mitigate business risk.

Employers who engage in poor workplace practices run the risk of much more than having to pay a penalty for unfair dismissal, along with the cost associated with defending the claim.

Discover the key elements of procedural fairness for workplace issues, plus poor workplace practices to avoid, in our article published in the October 2020 edition of Speak Out magazine. Show less

Here are four key strategies that healthcare leaders and practice owners can implement to pave the way for effective change management...

We know that staying at home is helping to save lives, but how is lockdown affecting your mental
health?

Read the tips from our Employee Assistance Program team in the Winter edition of Fusion magazine.

S02, E17: Anna Pannuzzo (WorkPlacePLUS) talks with Nichola Harris (Speech Pathology Australia's Manager Professional Practice) about navigating the return to face-to-face working as COVID-19 restrictions ease.

Addresses employee concerns about providing face-to-face allied health services to clients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A culture of respect for aged care consumers will stem from a culture of respect for our co-workers, colleagues and staff. Discover the four red flags of inappropriate conduct.

Lisa Leong speaks with Anna Pannuzzo about toxic work cultures - what they look like, how they impact on people and what can be done to address the causes and consequences of workplace toxicity.

Hiring great attitudes to create a high-performing culture.
pp 72-73

In the "Lisa's Little Tips" segment of This Working Life on ABC RN, Lisa Leong speaks with Anna Pannuzzo, Principal and HR Consultant at WorkPlacePLUS, on how to recruit and retain an awesome team of employees.

Anna Pannuzzo discusses some key considerations for international companies wanting to set up or maintain a workplace in Australia.

"ACSA launches aged care storytelling platform"
by Sandy Cheu

"WorkPlace PLUS director Anna Pannuzzo said communication is key to effectively managing new aged care staff, especially during the probation period.

“Managing performance is an ongoing process that begins from day one of employment and forms part of the professional manager-to-staff relationship,” Ms Pannuzzo told the conference.

Communicating the culture of the organisation and setting clear goals and… Show more

"ACSA launches aged care storytelling platform"
by Sandy Cheu

"WorkPlace PLUS director Anna Pannuzzo said communication is key to effectively managing new aged care staff, especially during the probation period.

“Managing performance is an ongoing process that begins from day one of employment and forms part of the professional manager-to-staff relationship,” Ms Pannuzzo told the conference.

Communicating the culture of the organisation and setting clear goals and objectives at the beginning are among ways to ensure the employee is fit for the organisation, she said.

“Take the time to familiarise the person with the organisation’s vision, mission and values. Engaging in open and honest conversations will benefit the client, the organisation and colleagues,” Ms Panuzzo said.

She suggested the following tips for effective communication:

Describe your own feelings or thoughts
Describe the other person’s behaviour
State your preferred outcome" Show less

What happens when someone in your organisation is not doing their job properly?

It can become a very tricky issue, because how you manage the situation depends on whether it’s a performance issue, or a behaviour issue - because each has a different set of rules and expectations.

Anna Pannuzzo from HR consultancy WorkPlacePLUS explains how we can tell the difference between a performance issue and a behaviour issue.

Implications for new graduates and early career speech pathologists. Focuses on employment relationships, employment law and the contractual obligations of using a contractor in your health practice.

This podcast was developed by the Early Career Reference Group as a resource for speech pathologists in the early stages of their careers. The guest speaker for this episode is Anna Pannuzzo from WorkPlacePLUS. This podcast discusses important issues including employment conditions, superannuation, contracts and conflict resolution within the workplace.

"If you’re in charge of people at work chances are that at some stage you’ll have to deal with a grievance, complaint or dispute.

Are you well versed and equipped to handle it and are you sure you know the proper steps to take? Because if it ends up in court - getting it wrong can have serious consequences.

Anna Pannuzzo knows what's at stake. Her firm advises and conducts independent investigations into a range of complaints from fraud and theft to bullying, discrimination and… Show more

"If you’re in charge of people at work chances are that at some stage you’ll have to deal with a grievance, complaint or dispute.

Are you well versed and equipped to handle it and are you sure you know the proper steps to take? Because if it ends up in court - getting it wrong can have serious consequences.

Anna Pannuzzo knows what's at stake. Her firm advises and conducts independent investigations into a range of complaints from fraud and theft to bullying, discrimination and harassment." Show less

"Are you considering appointing and additional speech pathologist to service your growing client base?... When employing staff, there are various options to consider."