Notice & final pay

When the employment relationship ends, it can sometimes be a challenging experience for either or both parties and knowing what you need to do is very important.

There are many myths and misunderstandings about what to do but the Fair Work has laid out some clear rules to help facilitate both parties responsibilities.

For the employer to give notice:

·        It must be delivering it personally

·        leaving it at the employee’s last known address, or

·        sending it by pre-paid post to the employee’s last known address.

For the employee to give notice, it can be done verbally, but it is recommended that it is in writing in case proof is needed if either party contest the situation.

Once notice is given, what happens next? Well, the employer can either let the employee work through their notice period or pay them out (also known as pay in lieu of notice).

However, if the employee pays out the notice period, the amount paid out to the employee must equal the full amount the employee would have been paid if they worked until the end of the notice period, which includes:

·        incentive-based payments and bonuses

·        loadings

·        monetary allowances

·        overtime

·        penalty rates

·        any other separately identifiable amounts.

Obviously, there is a different procedure if there is a serious misconduct issue, which we will discuss in a future blog article.

Reference:

https://www.fairwork.gov.au/ending-employment/notice-and-final-pay