Have you advised end of year shutdown dates to your employees?
Businesses across Australia have been busy keeping up with all the challenges of 2020, making it hard to believe that we are just 2 months out from Christmas.
This time of year is usually when businesses prepare for a closedown over the Christmas/New Year period. If you are planning to implement an annual closedown, remember it is also one of the few times staff can be directed to take annual leave, which can assist in minimising your business liabilities.
In many organisations, employees have not taken time off this year so it’s important that they take time to relax and recharge from the testing times of 2020. This is another good reason to consider a closedown of operations, if your business conditions can allow for it.
Under Awards, employers must provide notice of a shutdown, at a minimum, of 1 month. However, be aware, that some Awards require employers to provide 2 months’ notice; so check your Awards.
As each state differs slightly in their designated public holidays over this period, be sure to check which days are public holidays in your state.
Subscribers to Your HRdocs can download a Christmas Shutdown Template Letter advising employees of the shutdown period.