Coronavirus and Australian workplace laws

There are a range of flexible working arrangements that employers and employees can explore together that may suit their individual needs and circumstances. These include:

• working from home
• changing the number of hours an employee works
• changing the start or finish times of employees' shifts
• changing patterns of work, such as rostering arrangements
• changing the type of work done by employees.

Flexibility in the workplace allows employers and employees to make arrangements about working conditions that suit them. Employers and employees need to consider and comply with any requirements under the Fair Work Act, an applicable award, enterprise agreement, employment contract or workplace policy.

More information:

• Alternative work arrangements during coronavirus
• Award flexibility during coronavirus
• Flexibility in the workplace
• Flexible working arrangements

Employers and employees are encouraged to explore options that enable an employee to take their accrued leave entitlements during the coronavirus outbreak. Options include:

• taking accrued annual leave
• taking any other paid leave (such as long service leave or paid leave available under an award, enterprise agreement or employment contract)
• directing employees to take accrued annual leave in certain circumstances
• taking any other paid leave by agreement between the employee and the employer.

Employers can choose to provide special paid leave to employees who are affected by the outbreak, for example if they’ve stood down employees.

More information:

• Pay and leave during coronavirus

In many circumstances, employees won’t have access to paid leave during the coronavirus outbreak. For example, if they are permanent but have already used all their accrued leave entitlements. In these situations, employers and employees can agree for an employee to take unpaid leave.

Under the Fair Work Act, unpaid leave is also available for employees in certain circumstances, such as unpaid carer’s leave for casual employees.

More information:

• Pay and leave during coronavirus
• Unpaid carer’s leave

Employers may be able to stand their employees down without pay during the coronavirus outbreak for a number of different reasons. These can include where:

• the business has closed because of an enforceable government direction relating to non-essential services (which means there is no work at all for employees to do even from another location)
• a large proportion of the workforce is in self-quarantine meaning the remaining employees can’t be usefully employed
• there’s a stoppage of work due to lack of supply for which the employer can’t be held responsible.

Importantly, employees can be stood down without pay under the Fair Work Act if they can’t be usefully employed because of a stoppage of work for any cause for which the employer can’t reasonably be held responsible. Employers should exercise the option to stand down cautiously, because if they stand down their employees unlawfully, their employees may be able to recover unpaid wages.

Enterprise agreements and employment contracts can have different or extra rules about when an employer can stand down an employee without pay, for example, a requirement to notify or consult.

Employees that are stood down remain employed during the period of the stand down.

More information:

• Business closures during coronavirus

If other options have been exhausted, or if they aren’t feasible, some employers may need to make their employees’ positions redundant in response to a business downturn caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Where this happens, employers must make sure they comply with any requirement to notify and consult about the redundancies under an applicable award, enterprise agreement, employment contract or workplace policy, and make reasonable efforts to find their employees other jobs.

They also need to provide those employees with their correct entitlements, which may include notice, redundancy pay and payment of any accrued leave entitlements.

The Fair Work Act protects employees from being dismissed for a number of reasons, including:

• because they are temporarily away from work because they are sick (such as with coronavirus)
• discrimination
• any reason that is harsh, unjust or unreasonable or another protected right.

Flexibility in the workplace allows employers and employees to make arrangements about working conditions that suit them. Employers and employees need to consider and comply with any requirements under the Fair Work Act, an applicable award, enterprise agreement, employment contract or workplace policy.

More information:

• Ending employment during coronavirus
• Notice and Redundancy Calculator

During these challenging and unprecedented times, some businesses may need to close because they are no longer profitable or run out of money.

This can mean that employees lose their jobs, and in some cases where a business is bankrupt or goes into insolvency, employers may not be able to pay their employees the wages and entitlements they’re owed.

When an employer is bankrupt, or goes into liquidation or insolvency, employees may be able to get help through the Fair Entitlements Guarantee.

Sometimes, an employer might close their business and abandon it without placing it into liquidation. Where this happens, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) may be able to help recover unpaid employment entitlements.

More information:

• Bankruptcy & liquidation
• Fair Entitlements Guarantee