Further to ER Bulletin of 15 April, members would be aware that the ATO’s JobKeeper portal is now open for employers to register for the JobKeeper scheme and provide the relevant information for eligibility.

Once an employer has qualified for JobKeeper, the provisions of the Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus (Measures No. 2) Act 2020 (the ‘Omnibus Act’) become available. The Omnibus Act amended the Fair Work Act 2009 and inserted into it a new Part 6-4C. This new Part is temporary to the COVID-19 pandemic and will be automatically repealed on 28 September 2020.

New Part 6-4C provides for new JobKeeper-related rights for employers to change employment arrangements, and gives the Fair Work Commission (‘FWC’) the power to handle disputes. Specifically, the new job-related rights for employers relate to:

  • An employer direction for an employee to work reduced hours or days;
  • An employer direction for an employee to undertake alternative duties;
  • An employer direction for an employee to work at an alternative location.

In addition, employers can make requests:

  • For an employee to work on different days and times to their ordinary hours and days;
  • For an employee to take accrued annual leave.

The Employment Relations team has developed a detailed Fact Sheet on what is called JobKeeper enabled directions. The Fact Sheet details the how, what, why, parameters and requirements for making a direction or request to an employee who is an eligible participant in the JobKeeper scheme.

Click HERE to download your copy of the Fact Sheet.