Fair Work Ombudsman shares guidelines for end of year leave entitlements

The Fair Work Ombudsman is encouraging all employers and employees to start planning how their business will operation during the end of year holiday season.

Many businesses will go into a shutdown period over the holiday break, but there are certain rules and regulations outlined by Fair Work.

• An employer can direct an employee to take annual leave during a shutdown if their award or registered agreement allows it.

• If there is no award or agreement in place, an employer can only direct the employee to take leave if the direction is reasonable.

• Employers can’t direct their employees to take annual leave during a shutdown if their award or agreement doesn’t allow it.

• If an employee continues to work during shutdown their should receive normal pay.

• Employers can ask their employees to work overtime or work on public holiday if the request is reasonable.

If you’re in need of a leave policy this holiday season, our BrightBase library of policies, templates, and other documentation helps you create timely, compliant company policies without adding to your HR admin hours.

Qantas fined tens of millions in unfair dismissal case

The Federal Court has recently ruled that hundreds of former Qantas workers that were unfairly dismissed will receive financial compensation in one of the biggest unfair dismissal cases this year.

This case is said to set the airline back millions of dollars, with each individual set to receive amount between $30,000 to $100,000.

In 2020, Qantas made headlines for letting go of 1,700 workers across 10 airports during the pandemic. Qantas has appealed the unfair dismissal ruling twice; however, the Federal Court has been firm in stance that Qantas needs to pay varying degrees of compensation to the impacted workers.

What happens next?

Lawyers for Qantas and the Transport Workers Union will attend mediation before the matter returns to court in November.

Small business employers have different rules compared to large enterprises like Qantas, but this is why it’s critical to understand your rights and obligations towards employees.

With BrightHR you can receive 24/7 employment relations advice to ensure your HR decisions always remain fair and compliant with the law. You can tap into our team of experts whenever you need to.

Calls for Fair Work Act to be overhauled amid underpayment concerns

A former worker at a WA Aged care centre has recently been refused compensation for an underpayment and calls changes to the Fair Work Act are surfacing.

The former worker was refused compensation due to the fact that there is a six-year limitation period under the Act, despite the aged care facility admitting to underpaying workers.

The former worker assumed they would receive compensation for the underpayment of their overtime, however, with the six-year statutory limitation on underpayment claims, the former work in this case was refused payment.

The Fair Work Act now has the spotlight to increase the statutory limitations for situations like this. However, it’s also stated that having a limitation on these claims encourages workers and employers to respond to cases in a timely manner. The jury is still out on this one.

With an ever-changing employment relations landscape, it can be hard to know which Award to apply and what the right amount of pay should be for workers. BrightHR software helps you navigate this complex landscape. Book a demo with our team to learn more about the features that keep your business compliant.

Frequently asked questions from Bright Brainbox

If you still have a few questions, we’ve also got the latest questions asked on BrAInbox below:

If my employee is temporarily working out of the state, do they still get the public holiday?

Employees are entitled to the public holidays that fall where they are based for work, not where they are working the day of the public holiday. What this means is that if an employee is out of state for a week, but normally work within the state, they would still receive their home states public holiday, even though they are working elsewhere on the day.

What is a shutdown under a modern Award?

A shutdown occurs where the business makes the decision that it will stop operating for a temporary time period in order to allow employees to take annual leave. Employees cannot be required to take leave without pay during the period of a shutdown. Shut down provisions are generally provided for in Modern Awards and Enterprise Agreements.

How do I pay my employee if they are on paid leave during a public holiday?

If an employee is on a period of paid leave during a public holiday, then the employee would be paid for the public holiday, and this is inclusive of any part time hours that fall on a public holiday. Public holidays and paid leave do not overlap with each other, what this means is that if an employee's paid leave falls on a public holiday, the employee will be paid for the public holiday and their existing leave entitlements, such as sick or annual leave, will not be deducted from.

If an employee takes sick leave either side of a public holiday, they should still be paid for the public holiday if it is on a day that they would normally work. Normal sick leave rules apply for the time taken as sick leave. An employer can also ask the employee for evidence that shows the reason they took the leave. If an employee is rostered to work on a public holiday on a day they don’t normally work, and calls in sick, they don’t get paid for that day.