QLD Employment Law on forced Holidays

[Ben Walker]

To whom it may concern,
My question is in relation to my employer closing down the premises for 2 weeks over Christmas and paying us for doing so, but in the process he is taking the two weeks out of our accrued holiday? None of the employee's have asked for the time off and I certainly do not want two weeks taken out of my holidays. I have asked him to not pay me (but pay me for the public holidays), to which the response was - he would have to draft a legal agreement to do so. Is any of this legal? I am employed as a spring manufacturer under the manufacturing and associated industries and occupations Award/category. I can furnish you with a letter of my employer's reasoning of this issue, if it would help expedite this matter. I have a fishing trip booked in June next year (off Western Australia) and two weeks is not enough time to fulfil this pre-booked holiday.

Please advise at your earliest convenience
Kindest regards
Ben Walker

 

[Rod]

The Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2010 allows an employer to close down and offer annual leave as long as at least 4 weeks notice is given.

The employer is obliged to pay annual leave at this time if you have any annual leave owing to you. I don't know if you can request unpaid leave instead. Someone else needs to answer this for you.

I'm unclear why it makes a difference as to whether you take unpaid leave now or for your fishing trip. The amount of unpaid leave will be same either way. If it's because you can't save money then open another account and put holiday money into this account.

 

[Clancy]

I would request to take the forced closure period as unpaid leave, that way, your taxable income will go down and you might pay a little bit less tax.
Or you could request to get paid as normal for the closed period and then do a little bit of overtime here and there to make up the hours.