There is no doubt that the end of jobkeeper will have a significant effect on many businesses in industries such as retail and tourism.
If you are considering laying off employees we strongly advise you to contact BetterHR’s team of HR experts as soon as possible, to discuss the possibility of redundancies before 28 March 2021.
Failure to do so may result in a nasty shock when there is no work for an employee to perform or worse still, no money to pay that employee.
Business owners and managers need to be aware that failure to comply with consultation provisions in awards (such as the General Retail Industry Award) may result in a successful unfair dismissal claim (or worse still a general protections claim).
You will also need to be aware of the notice periods for termination (up to 5 weeks notice) and redundancy pay (up to 16 weeks).
Employers with less than 15 employees will also need to fill out the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code.
“Unfortunately we have seen all too often over the last year, that businesses have panicked and terminated an employee without consultation. Whilst we have been successful in both unfair dismissal claims and general protections claims before the Fair Work Commission, we would prefer that you contact us first before making any major workplace change” says Sean Wilson, CEO of BetterHR.
