AT828612 - Transport Workers’ (Virgin Tech) Award 2003 [Transitional]
[17 - Termination of employment title changed and substituted by PR950370 ppc 03Aug04]
17.1 Notice of termination by Virgin Tech
17.1.1 In order to terminate the employment of an employee Virgin Tech must give to the employee the period of notice specified in the table below:
Period of continuous service |
Period of notice |
1 year or less |
1 week |
Over 1 year and up to the completion of 3 years |
2 weeks |
Over 3 years and up to the completion of 5 years |
3 weeks |
Over 5 years of completed service |
4 weeks |
17.1.2 In addition to the notice in 17.1.1, employees over 45 years of age at the time of the giving of the notice with not less than two years continuous service, are entitled to an additional week’s notice.
17.1.3 Payment in lieu of the prescribed notice in 17.1.1 and 17.1.2 must be made if the appropriate notice period is not required to be worked. Provided that employment may be terminated by the employee working part of the required period of notice and by Virgin Tech making payment for the remainder of the period of notice.
17.1.4 The required amount of payment in lieu of notice must equal or exceed the total of all amounts that, if the employee’s employment had continued until the end of the required period of notice, Virgin Tech would have become liable to pay to the employee because of the employment continuing during that period. That total must be calculated on the basis of:
17.1.4(a) the employee’s ordinary hours of work (even if not standard hours); and
17.1.4(b) the amounts ordinarily payable to the employee in respect of those hours, including (for example) allowances, loading and penalties; and
17.1.4(c) any other amounts payable under the employee’s contract of employment.
17.1.5 The period of notice in this clause does not apply:
17.1.5(a) in the case of dismissal for serious misconduct;
17.1.5(b) to apprentices;
17.1.5(c) to employees engaged for a specific period of time or for a specific task or tasks;
17.1.5(d) to trainees whose employment under a traineeship agreement or an approved traineeship is for a specified period or is, for any other reason, limited to the duration of the agreement; or
17.1.5(e) to casual employees.
17.1.6 Continuous service is defined in clause 31.8.
17.2 Notice of termination by an employee
17.2.1 The notice of termination required to be given by an employee is the same as that required of Virgin Tech, save and except that there is no requirement on the employee to give additional notice based on the age of the employee concerned.
17.2.2 If an employee fails to give the notice specified in 17.1.1 Virgin Tech has the right to withhold monies due to the employee to a maximum amount equal to the amount the employee would have received under 17.1.4.
Where Virgin Tech has given notice of termination to an employee, an employee shall be allowed up to one day’s time off without loss of pay for the purpose of seeking other employment. The time off shall be taken at times that are convenient to the employee after consultation with Virgin Tech.
17.4 Transmission of business
Where a business is transmitted from Virgin Tech to another, as set out in clause 18 - Redundancy, the period of continuous service that the employee had with the transmittor or any prior transmittor is deemed to be service with the transmittee and taken into account when calculating notice of termination. However, an employee shall not be entitled to notice of termination or payment in lieu of notice for any period of continuous service in respect of which notice has already been given or paid for.
17.6 Stand down
Virgin Tech will have the right to deduct payment for any day an employee cannot be usefully employed because of any strike or stoppage of work through any cause for which Virgin Tech cannot reasonably be held responsible, subject to the following conditions:
17.6.1 Virgin Tech will notify the employee, during the period the notification remains in force, that the employee will be deemed to be stood down for the purpose of this clause.
17.6.2 An employee who is stood down will be treated for all purposes (other than payment of wages) as having continuity of service and employment regardless of such standing down.
17.6.3 An employee who is stood down may at any time during the period of stand down terminate the employee’s employment without notice and will be entitled to receive from Virgin Tech as soon as practicable any monies due at the time of termination. The day on which the employee exercises the right of termination without notice will be the day on which the employment is terminated.
17.6.4 An employee whose employment is terminated under 17.6.3) will for all purposes (other than payment in lieu of notice) be treated as if the employee’s employment had been terminated by Virgin Tech without default of the employee.
17.6.5 An employee who is stood down will be free to take other employment. However, apart from where an employee who is engaged in a strike or stoppage affecting the operations of Virgin Tech, an employee stood down for a period of more than five working days and who has exercised the right to take other employment will be entitled to work out in such other employment, provided that they have given Virgin Tech one weeks notice before commencing the other employment.
17.6.6 An employee whom Virgin Tech proposes to stand down may elect to take, for the period of the stand down only and for such further time as is reasonable, any annual leave to which the employee is entitled or which is accruing to the employee and upon such election being exercised the employee’s annual leave will be reduced accordingly.
17.6.7 Virgin Tech will not deduct payment for any day prescribed by the award affecting Virgin Tech as a public holiday which occurs during the period of stand down by Virgin Tech (other than of an employee who is engaged in a strike or stoppage at any establishment of Virgin Tech) except to the extent that such employee has become entitled to payment for the holiday in other employment. An employee claiming payment for a holiday will, if required by Virgin Tech, provide a statutory declaration setting out details of any other employment during this period and the remuneration received.
