Cyclones and downturns: When you can stand employees Down

So while I was watching how cyclone "Almost" I mean Cyclone Alfred panned out. Not because I love the journalism integrity of day time TV but because I was going to be calculating some Queensland payrolls in the same week, it occurred to me that some of you might not know what FWA expects us to do in the face of employee stand downs.

So lets have a look.

When Can Employers Stand Down Employees?

Employers may stand down employees under:

An award, enterprise agreement, or employment contract
The general Fair Work Act provisions (if no specific agreement applies)

Stand Downs Under an Award or Agreement

If you're covered by an award or enterprise agreement, check if it contains stand down provisions. If your Award isn't saved in your Bookmarks Tab, please push the star…. You know the one in the right hand side of your google address bar. I cannot tell you the amount of times I say a week "Let's check your Award".

Stand Downs Under the Fair Work Act

If an award or agreement doesn't mention stand downs, the Fair Work Act provisions kick in. Employers can only stand down employees if work stops due to:

Equipment breakdown (not caused by the employer)
Industrial action (not organized by the employer)
A situation outside the employer's control, such as:

Supply chain disruptions
Natural disasters (this is why we wait for the Premier or someone with a title to "declare" events a natural disaster).
Government-mandated business closures (Another FWA reason to tune into day times news… )

Important: You can't stand down employees just because business is slow or there isn't enough work.

Best Practice for Standing Down Employees

If a stand down is necessary, it's best practice to inform employees in writing, outlining:

The start date of the stand down
Whether they will be paid or not
The impact on their entitlements
Updates on when the stand down might end

This is hard in the event of a Natural disaster so use your technology and try to be proactive on this. So if your business has Whats app group messages give the staff a heads up - (get the staff to watch the news for you….. I am eligible for News Corp shares yet?). You can then double down for more formal notifications.

Alternatives to Standing Down Employees

Before making a final decision, consider other options:

Working From Home
Could employees work remotely? If yes, why are you needing a shut down? No seriously if your employee can work remotely why aren't they, like everyday! Do you know how happy people are with their dogs at their feet? Happy employees = productive employees. But I digress
Adjusting Duties, Hours, or Rosters
Employers and employees may agree to temporarily change duties, reduce hours, or modify rosters to keep staff on board and you may be able to utilise them for clean ups. Make sure to:

Push the star on the and check the your Award
Give your employees some warning and say in the changes.

Using Paid or Unpaid Leave
Ask your employees if they want to use any of their accrued leave. If an employee is on paid leave, they aren't considered standing down during that period. You are just paying leave the same as when they jet off to Bryon (Eastern staters) or Bali (us here in WA). Heads up Personal / Carers leave cannot be used.
Now the implications to payroll day IF you declare a stand down.

As above employees opting for leave get paid as normal. If your payroll process makes paying leave difficult we need to talk.
Employees that are not being paid still need to accrue leave - that can be a little tricky
Pay any public holidays that are in the pay period as normal.
Pay any casuals their minimum engagement if they attended your business.

If you can take one thing away from this blog please let it be that you have found your Award and Bookmarked it so I sound less like a broken record (Squawking "check your Award to fade").