An overview of legal procedure & case law
The majority of the jobkeeper provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 were repealed on 29 March 2021. The Fair Work Commission has limited power to deal with jobkeeper disputes on or after this date.
Attachment 5 sets out the jobkeeper provisions of the Fair Work Act that continue to apply on and after 29 March 2021.
See Fair Work Act 2009 s.789GJ and 789GS
Section 789GJ of Part 6-4C was repealed on 28 September 2020
An employer cannot request an employee take leave under s.789GJ on or after 28 September 2020 and an agreement made before 28 September 2020 does not apply on or after that date.
See Attachment 5 for information about the jobkeeper provisions that apply on and after 29 March 2021.
Prior to 28 September 2020, under s.789GJ(1), if an employer qualifies for the jobkeeper scheme and is entitled to one or more jobkeeper payments for the employee, the employer may ask the employee to take paid annual leave.
The employer can only make such a request if it will not result in the employee having a balance of paid annual leave of fewer than 2 weeks.
The employee:
An employee is not required to comply with a request to the extent that it relates to taking annual leave after 28 September 2020.
Prior to 28 September 2020, under s.789GJ(2), an employer and an employee may also agree in writing to the employee taking twice as much paid annual leave, at half the employee’s rate of pay.
An agreement is authorised if:
If an employee agrees to take paid annual leave at half pay:
as if the agreement had not been made.
Agreements made under s.789GJ(2) cease to have effect from 28 September 2020.