The Australian Government provides financial assistance to cover certain unpaid employment entitlements to eligible employees who have lost their job due to the liquidation (if a company) or bankruptcy (if a private individual) of their employer.
Employees who are owed certain employee entitlements after losing their job because their employer is in liquidation or bankrupt, may be able to receive financial assistance from the Australian Government.
This assistance is available through the Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) if their employer went bankrupt or went into liquidation on or after 5 December 2012 or through the General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme (GEERS) if their employer went bankrupt or went into liquidation before the 5 December 2012.
Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) is effectively a legislative safety net scheme where an employer is in liquidation (or bankruptcy) with assistance available for:
- Wages – up to 13 weeks of unpaid wages
- Annual leave
- Long service leave
- Payment in lieu of notice – maximum of 5 weeks
- Redundancy pay – maximum of 4 weeks per full year of service
To be eligible for Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) assistance, a former employee must meet all the requirements in the Fair Entitlements Guarantee Act 2012 in particular:
Any claim must be made before the end of the 12 months after the later of the following events:
- An insolvency event happens to the employer (liquidation or bankruptcy as the case may be);
- The person’s employment by the employer ends.
If you have lost your job and you are owed outstanding employee entitlements, but your employer is not in liquidation or bankrupt, you can seek further information from the Fair Work Ombudsman, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) or from the insolvency practitioner looking after the business affairs of your former employer.
If your employer is still operating a business, the Fair Work Ombudsman may be able to provide information about the employer’s obligations to meet unpaid employee entitlements.
For further information please contact Trevor Rosenthal on telephone (03) 8680 5555 or emailtrosenthal@bshb.com.au.
Please note that the advice in this communication is general advice only and you should not rely on this advice unless you obtain legal advice specific to your own requirements.
