THE WORKPLACE COLLECTIVE

The Federal Government has just announced a $130 billion wage subsidy package this afternoon for Employers to access from today, 30 March 2020 of: $1,500 per fortnight per eligible employee; to be paid for a maximum period of 6 months; and for those businesses which have been adversely impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis (subject to turnover reduction criteria). Which Employers are entitled to the JobKeeper Payments? Businesses will need to assess whether they have or wil

We are now seeing the loosening of Modern Awards and some legislation to afford Employers more flexibility in responding to the impact of COVID-19 on their businesses. This is a small step in the right direction to remove the road blocks currently limiting the ability of Employers to quickly respond to the deteriorated business conditions and will assist in preserving jobs. Over the past week we have seen urgent changes to the Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2010, the Lo

The NSW Government has responded to the COVID-19 crisis and addressed some of the inflexibility in the Long Service Leave At 1955 (NSW) for Employers by introducing two changes. These go some way in assisting Employers to manage their workforces and mitigate redundancies, as business conditions rapidly deteriorate. These changes will commence on 25 March 2020 and remain in place for 6 months. The changes include: Waiving the 1 month notice period previously required for the t

In response to the recent mandated closures, a number of urgent changes were pushed through in the Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2010 on 24 March 2020, to provide some flexibility for Employers to respond to the impact of COVID-19 on their business. More changes are expected to other Modern Awards. As these changes are pushed through, we will update The Workplace Collective Blog. Hospitality Award - New Flexible Provisions From 24 March to 30 June 2020 (which could be

Stage 2 Shutdown – Places of Social Gatherings The Stage 1 restrictions on social gatherings imposed at midday, 23 March 2020 will remain in place. The Stage 2 restrictions on social gatherings will now be imposed from 11.59pm today, Wednesday, 25 March 2020. Stage 2 will include: Cafes – limited to takeaway and home delivery services, as well as canteens in hospitals, care homes, schools, prisons, military, homeless and workplaces; Auction houses, real estate auctions and o

Stage 1 Shutdown - Non-Essential Business Closures and School Arrangements from midday Monday, 23 March 2020 will have further impacts on Employers. There are now non-essential business closure directions under Stage 1 measures that have been issued by the Federal Government and supported by the States. Social distancing rules continue to apply and all non-essential travel should now not be taken. Further, all non-essential businesses and undertakings must not operate that bu

IR Legal Solutions answers some of the common 'what happens if...' questions being asked by employers about the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19), so they know what to do if such issues arise in their business. What happens if an employee or their family member / member of their immediate household is sick with COVID-19? For full-time and part-time employees that cannot attend work: because they are sick with COVID-19, they may access their accrued paid personal leave. If the

There may be a number of options and measures businesses may need to take in the coming weeks and months to mitigate the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19), each with its own requirements and restrictions. Businesses should therefore ensure they fully understand the various measures and options, including the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act), relevant industrial instruments (Modern Awards/Enterprise Agreements), employment contracts and company polic

Remember that there are a number of different leave and other arrangements you can put in place during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis for your employees and to try to mitigate the impact it will have on your operations and workforce. These will likely vary depending on each individual case at this stage given the variables, as well as the terms of your relevant industrial instruments (Modern Award/Enterprise Agreement). LEAVE ARRANGEMENTS The types leave arrangements that

Businesses should certainly consider the reasonable steps they can take in an attempt to reduce the risk to employees and visitors at their workplaces and sites, including: introduce a testing/vetting process prior to access to your workplace/site, to limit any employee or other visitor attending your workplace that has COVID-19 symptoms, has been diagnosed, or has been in close contact with a confirmed case. Remember, all measures you put in place must be compliant with work