To support the implementation and operation of the JobKeeper scheme in Australian workplaces, temporary JobKeeper provisions have been added to the Fair Work Act (Fair Work Act JobKeeper provisions). These provisions apply to employers who have qualified for the JobKeeper scheme and their eligible employee. They started on 9 April 2020 and end on 28 September 2020.
The Fair Work Act JobKeeper provisions enable qualifying employers to give ‘JobKeeper enabling directions’ to eligible employees. In certain circumstances, this means that employers can temporarily:
- stand down an employee (including by reducing their hours or days of work)
- change an employee’s usual duties
- change an employee’s location of work.
The new provisions also enable qualifying employers and eligible employees to make agreements to change their days and times of work and take annual leave in certain circumstances.
To give a JobKeeper enabling direction or make an agreement under the Fair Work Act JobKeeper provisions, an employer needs to:
- qualify for and enrol in the JobKeeper scheme
- be entitled to JobKeeper payments for the employee to whom the direction or agreement applies
- be a national system employer in the Fair Work system.
Source: Fair Work Ombudsman