Stand down letter template

Acceptable causes include:. To be stood down is to have your employment temporarily suspended by your employer for reasons beyond their control. To be stood down means that an employee cannot be retained in useful employment as the result of extenuating circumstances. You should stand down an employee when a situation that is outside of your control prevents the employee from being able to do his or her job.

No, there are a number of options worth exploring before you begin to stand down employees. These include allowing them to take paid annual leave for the period in question, seeing whether or not they are able to work from home, or repositioning them in the organization. Read the Fair Work Ombudsman's stand down checklist before asking employees to stand down. Yes, you may stand down workers if you've been ordered by the government to cease operations due to the coronavirus outbreak, or a lack of supply that you as the employer cannot be held responsible for is forcing your business to shut down.

A stand down is when an employee is asked to stop working temporarily for a number of reasons, whereas a shut down is when a business closes briefly for slower periods of the year such as the festive season. A stand down letter is the standard way for standing down an employee. A mere downturn in work is not sufficient. For example, if the government has ordered that the employer shuts their business, this might qualify as a stoppage of work, the cause for which the employer cannot reasonably be held responsible.

But if there has just been a reduction in revenue, so the employer is having to cut back on staffing costs, this may not qualify.

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, and the employer could face penalties for breaching the Fair Work Act.

Further information about standing down employees is available from the Fair Work Ombudsman and from the Fair Work Commission. Enterprise agreements, awards, 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.

If in doubt as to whether or not employees can be stood down, seek legal advice. This is a difficult time for us all and this decision has been considered very carefully.

These provisions mean that your job is protected through this period, notwithstanding that we are unable to usefully employ you.