If you're closing over Christmas and expecting staff to use their annual leave, most awards require 28 days' written notice. December 1 is already late for a shutdown starting in the final week of December. The notice requirement exists so employees can plan their finances and their time, and businesses that leave it late are exposed on both fronts.
Christmas shutdown rules sit under the Fair Work Act and the Modern Award that covers each employee. Getting the notice period wrong doesn't just create an awkward conversation. It can mean the direction to take leave isn't valid at all.
Planning a shutdown? Contact us to make sure your notice and leave directions are compliant.
Book a Free Consultation →How Much Notice Do You Need Before a Christmas Shutdown?
Most Modern Awards require at least 28 days' written notice before directing employees to take annual leave during a shutdown. That notice needs to be genuine written notice to each affected employee, not a verbal mention in a team meeting or an assumption that "everyone knows we close over Christmas." For a shutdown beginning in the last week of December, the notice deadline has typically already passed by the time most businesses start thinking seriously about it.
What Happens If an Employee Doesn't Have Enough Leave?
Depending on the applicable award or agreement, an employee without enough accrued annual leave may be able to take leave in advance, take a period of unpaid leave, or the employer may need to consider another arrangement. This needs to be worked through and communicated before the shutdown begins, not discovered on the employee's last working day when payroll flags a negative leave balance.
What About New Employees Who Haven't Accrued Enough Leave?
A new employee who started in the last few months may not have accrued sufficient paid leave to cover the shutdown period at all. This is a common gap employers miss, precisely because most of the workforce is well covered and the new starter's position doesn't get separately checked. It needs its own plan, agreed with the employee, well before the shutdown.
How Phan Campbell & Associates Can Help
At Phan Campbell & Associates in Footscray, our employment law team confirms the correct notice period for the awards covering a business's workforce, drafts compliant shutdown notices, and helps resolve leave shortfalls before they become a shutdown-week problem.
Getting award coverage right matters from the very first hire, not just at shutdown time. See our compliance checklist for hiring your first employee in Victoria.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How much notice do I need to give staff before a Christmas shutdown?
Most Modern Awards require at least 28 days' written notice. If a business hasn't given notice by early December for a late-December shutdown, it is already behind.
2. What if an employee doesn't have enough leave for the shutdown period?
Depending on the award, they may take leave in advance, take unpaid leave, or the employer may need another arrangement. This should be worked through before the shutdown, not during it.
3. What about new employees who haven't accrued enough leave?
A recently started employee may not have enough accrued paid leave to cover the shutdown. This needs its own plan, whether leave in advance, unpaid leave, or another agreed arrangement.
4. Does the shutdown notice requirement come from the Fair Work Act or the award?
Both. The Fair Work Act sets the general framework, while the specific notice period is typically set out in the relevant Modern Award or enterprise agreement.