Many awards have new rules for making staff take leave during shutdowns from 1 May 2023
A shutdown is when a business temporarily closes, such as during Christmas and New Year. Learn more about shutdowns at Direction to take annual leave during a shutdown.
The new rules mean:
- employers may require employees to take paid annual leave during a temporary shutdown
- employers must provide at least 28 days’ written notice of the temporary shutdown period to all impacted employees
- the requirement to take annual leave must be reasonable
- the notice period can be reduced through an agreement between the employer and the majority of impacted employees
- an employee who doesn’t have enough paid annual leave to cover the whole period can form an agreement with their employer for other options for the days not covered, such as:
- using accrued time off
- annual leave in advance, or
- leave without pay.
The employee will be paid for any public holidays during the shutdown period that fall on days they would normally work.
Check here to see if your award/s are impacted.
More information is available on the Fairwork website.
