Thinking of shutting your salon during Christmas and New Year? Read this first…
Before you start packing your bags to jet off for your well-earned Christmas vacay, here are some common FAQs from industry association, Hair and Beauty Australia (HABA) to ensure your salon shutdown goes off without a hitch…
What’s an annual leave shutdown?
The annual leave shutdown is a period when a salon or spa temporarily shuts down during a slow business period, such as between Christmas and New Year. Employers must provide their employees with four weeks’ notice of a shutdown in writing.
It is important that salon owners discuss with their employees the shutdown period including reasons for the shutdown, length of the shutdown and that the employees are being directed to take annual leave and discuss how many days of annual leave will be taken.
What if my employee doesn’t have enough annual leave?
If an employee does not have enough annual leave to cover the shutdown, the employer and employee can agree to either take advanced annual leave or undertake unpaid leave for the time provided.
If a salon shuts downs during the Christmas and New Year period, which days count as annual leave?
Employers need to ensure that they do not count the actual public holiday days as days of annual leave. Therefore over Christmas and New Year, the 25th and 26th of December and 1st of January will be considered as public holiday days, not days of annual leave.
The employer must provide information in writing 4 weeks before the commencement of the shutdown and the letter must include the date of the shutdown, the reason for the shutdown as well as the direction to take annual leave.
Got any more questions about annual leave? Head to askhaba.com.au.