Employee Stand Down Letter​

What is an employee stand down letter?

An employee stand-down letter is a formal legal notice used by the employer to notify the employee about the temporary closure of the business due to external factors, including governmental restrictions, force majeure, major organisational changes, etc.

This notice of stand down is being used frequently by startups and businesses in Australia to communicate their decision in a professional and compliant way. The temporary stand down of employees is an important decision with significant legal consequences for the employer. Therefore, the document must ensure full compliance with the Fair Work Act, the National Employment Standards and applicable modern or enterprise awards within the organisation.

What are the benefits of this stand down letter template?

By customising this letter template with FasterDraft, you benefit from the following:

• a letter that is fully compliant with Section 524 of the Fair Work Act;
• a letter that significantly reduces the risk of employment disputes;
• a letter template suitable for various legal grounds of the business’s closure;
• a document is ready for instant usage immediately after the download.

This letter shall not be confused with the employee warning notice that is being used to inform the employee of the issues with their work performance. For termination of employment relations with the employee, another employee notice should be used instead.

What should be included in the stand down letter template?

A good example of a fair work stand don letter must include the following:

• Employer Details. Include the full legal name, ACN or ABN number and registered business address of the employer.
• Employee Details. Include the full employee’s name, current job title and contact mailing address.
• Closure Details. Provide the exact reason for the business closure and the expected duration of such closure.
• Compensation Package. If the employee has any remaining paid annual or other types of leave or any sort of compensation by virtue of an effective modern award agreement, this shall be stated in the text of the letter as well.
• Date & Signature. The letter must be dated and signed by the employer’s director or HR manager.

How to use this Fair Work stand down letter?

To get a fully customisable letter template, follow a few easy steps below:

1. Click the “Create Document” button.
2. Answer simple questions in the form.
3. Select a template’s format – stand down letter template Australia PDF or Word.
4. E-sign the document online.
5. Make a payment.

The document is ready for instant download immediately after the purchase.

Important Legal Considerations before Issuance of Stand on Notice in Australia

To ensure that the employee’s stand-down letter is issued legally by the employer, such a letter must comply with the following requirements:

Legal Grounds

The stand-down letter can be issued only if the employer or organisation experiences difficulties such as prolonged machinery disruption that cannot be fixed, industrial actions or other temporary limitations. In other words, the employer can only stand down on the operations due to external reasons. Closure due to the reasons created directly by the business is not covered by section 524 of the Fair Work Act 2009.

Useful Alternative Work

The issuance of a stand down notice doesn’t automatically mean that the employer can stop paying salaries to their employees. Before doing so, the employer should make sure that there is no other useful work within the company or organisation for which current employees can be transformed. It is important to note that such “useful alternative work” shall not necessarily match the employee’s current qualification or job title.

Termination of Employment

Another common misconception about the stand don notice is that upon issuance of such a notice the employment contract should be terminated. However, the Fair Work Act clearly outlines that the employment between the employee and the employer continues despite the notice, and the employee remains entitled to unused paid leave, government support, and any sort of compensation provided by the enterprise or modern awards.