Nimbus patents solution to eliminate wage theft in Australia
nimbus, a prominent Australian cloud-based technology provider, has achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first Australian technology company to be awarded a patent specifically aimed at eliminating wage theft. The patent, granted by the Federal Commissioner of Patents in February, is recognised as a telephony software control via a web application and is already in use in 45 countries, including the United States.
The innovation from nimbus addresses a critical issue for Australian businesses, particularly within the country's GBP £1.4 billion contact centre industry. By ensuring that agents cannot log into work outside their scheduled shifts, the technology aids in compliance with award or enterprise agreements and helps organisations navigate Australia's complex workforce regulations. This is especially crucial for companies managing diverse individual worker awards across different operations, including those with remote workers.
The patented technology forms the intellectual property backbone of the nimbus platform. It allows organisations to gain unprecedented insight into workforce environments affecting compliance. The system prevents workers from logging in before their legally designated times, including breaks. This feature is designed to protect employers from inadvertently or otherwise inducing employees to start their shifts early, which could potentially result in substantial fines or criminal charges for company directors.
Grant Custance, founder and CEO of nimbus, highlighted the importance of this patent in solidifying the company's position as an industry leader in technological innovation for Australia's intricate workplace awards system. Custance remarked, "nimbus has been at the forefront of workforce management software development for years, assisting some of Australia’s most iconic enterprises in ensuring accurate staff payment and productivity gains. With the new patent, we offer a significant tool for organisations to prevent wage theft, particularly in contact centre departments, including remote working scenarios."
Custance also pointed out that the Fair Work Ombudsman is expected to scrutinise compliance with new workplace regulations closely this year. He emphasised that the innovation would help company directors and CEOs stay ahead of compliance issues, ensuring that employees work only their remunerated shifts. Furthermore, nimbus looks forward to licensing their invention to leading service companies globally, securing patents in 45 countries. Custance noted that pursuing and obtaining technology patents can be a demanding and costly process, but it is essential for enhancing productivity while maintaining trust in workforce systems.
Michael Clark, founder and CEO of CXTT Consulting and a former Executive Director at the Fair Work Ombudsman, praised the collaboration with nimbus. Clark stated, "From August, amendments to Federal workplace laws, including the right to disconnect, will take effect. Our experience indicates that many major Australian companies will be affected, especially in areas of direct customer contact like contact centres. There is often a misalignment between the shifts workers perform and the ones for which they are compensated. The nimbus patent will be crucial for companies to avoid scrutiny from the Fair Work Ombudsman."
This patent makes nimbus the first and only Australian Software as a Service (SaaS) enterprise to achieve US patent recognition for telephony software control via a web application. Despite the substantial investment required to secure such a patent, nimbus has demonstrated it is possible to compete on par with US technology firms. The decision to focus initially on the US market was strategic, given that it is the largest market for telephony software applications and hosts leading telephony vendors.
The extension of the patent to 45 markets offers robust intellectual property protection for nimbus' innovation, paving the way for future revenue from end users in a competitive and lucrative home-based workforce sector, estimated to be worth more than USD $400 billion annually.
nimbus continues to stand out as one of Australia's fastest-growing technology innovators, providing integrated tools that optimise human endeavour, drive positive business outcomes, and support a "live anywhere, work everywhere" approach. Their software solutions are deployed by top ASX companies and globally by organisations and governments in the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Canada, and the Middle East.
