Flood Impacted? Employee Considerations

Many parts of Australia are currently impacted by flooding. Flooding may impact employees in their personal capacity to attend work and can impact workplaces as a result of physical damage or access to the workplace. This leads to employers considering what options they have in regard to employees during active flooding and recovery. At the outset it is important to note that some modern awards have provisions that relate to the treatment of employees and shutdowns where there is a natural disaster. An applicable modern award should be checked before any decisions are made with regard to employees.

Generally, there are a number of options that employers can consider for employees in a flood situation:

Consider paid and unpaid leave options e.g. offering employees the option to take annual leave;

Flexible work arrangements: changing hours worked or where work is performed; and

Stand downs where the business cannot operate: where a business cannot stay open and the employer cannot provide employees with useful employment, the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) allows employers to stand down employees without pay until the business can re-open.

It is important to make decisions in consultation with employees, particularly as you cannot force employees to take leave. If you would like advice on what your legal options are in relation to flood impacted businesses or employees, please get in touch