MBA has recently received a number of enquiries regarding termination of employment and the payment of redundancy (severance) pay.
If you are considering terminating employees, members should first find out if the Award that the employee is covered by provides for a industry-specific redundancy pay scheme. Under these Awards, the Redundancy/Severance pay is payable upon termination (including resignation) except for where there has been serious misconduct or refusal of duty. An employer may offset a redundancy/severance payment by making payments into a redundancy pay scheme (such as ACIRT). If you are operating under an EBA, check the redundancy clause in the EBA.
There are some exceptions that may apply. For further information about notice periods and redundancy pay, contact our Workplace Relations and Legal Team on (02) 6175 5900.