Planning to close your business over Christmas / New Year? Have you notified your staff?
It's crept up so quickly again this year! Just a reminder that If you plan to close your business over the Christmas/New Year period, as an employer, you must remember to observe the following to ensure the 'reasonableness' of your request for staff to take annual leave:
- Provide your employees with one month's notice prior to the close down commencing
- Provide leave without pay to those employees with insufficient leave entitlements to cover the close down period
- Make pro-rata payments to employees who have worked less than 12 months
If your business is experiencing difficulties as a result of the economic slowdown it may make sense for your company to take a longer than usual shutdown period, easing the pressure on implementing hours or staff reductions. Ensure the reasons for this are well communicated to gain employee acceptance.
As each state differs slightly in their designated public holidays over this period, be sure to check the relevant ones for your state.
Subscribers to Your HRdocs can download a Christmas Shutdown Template Letter advising their employees of the shutdown period.