Advice for employers in a tough time

COVID-19 | LOCAL PROFESSIONAL ADVICE




There is no doubt about it, this has been a tough week for employers of our region. The nature of the crisis has meant that decisions are changing daily, even hourly, and legislation that was written for short term stand downs like cyclones has been enacted on a national scale for the foreseeable future.

Tourism attractions, cafes and restaurants, the lifeblood of our town, have been shut down in the new Government measures. The words ‘social distancing’ have suddenly entered our vocabulary on a daily basis. Everyone is worried about everything from job losses to whether they are disinfecting the groceries enough.

There is one thing for sure, we will weather this storm and there are blue skies at the other side. We will get through as a region. It’s times like this where community shows, and Port Douglas has plenty of that. Now is not a time to make knee jerk decisions, and I implore all employers to slow down. From Sunday nights Cabinet meeting to now, changes have happened, and the sands will continue to shift. 

The stand down provisions of the Fair Work Act have never been intended for long term shutdowns of this nature. No one has expected a pandemic and a lot of what we are seeing has been largely untested in the Courts.

We are in a cycle of grief, at the moment employees are trying to come to terms with what has happened and are mourning the loss of their income, jobs and lives. There will be a time when this is tested (when the anger cycle kicks in) and how you act as an employer now will be key. Standing down is not an option for all employers, whether the Council have, or Qantas has is irrelevant to your business.

Likewise, just implementing mass redundancies is not an option either. Employers are still bound by the normal consultation provisions and just telling Joe that he is no longer required and not to bother coming back does not meet those provisions, regardless of the times we are in. 

Have you thought about the blue skies at the end of this crisis? You will need staff! Hold on where you can whether you offer unpaid leave, let people access their leave entitlements (Qantas has offered staggered entitlements like half leave to get people through) and just generally keep in touch.

In addition, employers are still bound by their WH&S duty of care, they need to ensure that they are doing everything they can to protect their employees from the spread of coronavirus. This means enforcing social distancing, allocating PPE to each employee, extra cleaning of high traffic areas.

It’s overwhelming, but all we are asking you to do is slow down.


Newsport Community Service Support:

Business support line:
business.gov.au | 13 28 46

Small or medium business with reduced cash flow?
Here’s what we’re doing to boost your cash flow.

Is your business financially distressed?
This is what we’re doing to support you.

Assisting the economic recovery
Here’s how we’ll support you to grow.

Employ an apprentice or trainee?
This support is for you.

Are you a sole trader that has lost business?
This is what we’re doing to support you and your business.

Household finances hit by reduced work?
Here’s what we’re doing to help support your family budget.


Letters to the Editor. Do you have an opinion or point of view you'd like to share on one of our stories or a community issue? Please submit here.

* Readers are encouraged to use their full details to ensure letter legitimacy. Letters are the opinions of readers and do not represent the views of Newsport or its staff. Letters containing unlawful, obscene, defamatory or abusive material will not be published.


Got a great news tip or video? We'd love to see it. Send news tips to editor@newsport.com.au


* Comments are the opinions of readers and do not represent the views of Newsport or its staff.
Reader comments on this site are moderated before publication to promote valuable, civil, and healthy community debate. Our moderation takes into consideration these guidelines and rules before comments are approved for publication.