For many employers, it can be easy to forget the responsibility of managing your superannuation obligations amidst the busy lifestyle of managing a business or company.

However, those who fail to meet these obligations are guaranteed to face some serious and even damaging liabilities.

Recently, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has identified industries where employers are facing a higher risk of not meeting their super obligations. These industries include child care services, building and industrial cleaning, pubs, bars and taverns.

The most common superannuation mistakes employers in these industries may make include:

• Not paying enough super for employees
• Missing due dates
• Not keeping accurate records
• Not passing on the employees TFN to their super fund
• Not understanding when super should be paid for contractors, and;
• Error recovery: if a date or amount is missed than a Superannuation Guarantee Charge Statement should be lodged and often it isn’t

In an attempt to assist employers in counteracting these kinds of errors, the ATO is currently running an education campaign for business owners to help them better understand their super obligations.

If you think you might fall under the category of employers who do not understand their superannuation obligations, visit the ATO website for more information and details on the campaign.

As of July 2015, the ATO will commence undertaking audits of employers who continue to not meet super obligations for their employees.