Christmas shutdown planning: a practical checklist for small employers
A Christmas shutdown plan should identify the employees affected, check the award or agreement rules, work backwards from any required notice period, and agree how essential work will continue. Closing the business does not automatically make every employee's absence unpaid or allow the employer to deduct annual leave.
October is a useful time to settle the process before calendars fill up. This guide helps Australian small employers organise the decisions and records; it does not determine an employee's entitlements.
Start with the employment rules, then choose the dates
The Fair Work Ombudsman's shutdown guidance explains that an award or enterprise agreement must allow a direction to take annual leave during a shutdown. For award and agreement free employees, a direction must be reasonable. Check the instrument applying to each role rather than assuming one rule covers the whole team.
Many affected awards require at least 28 days' written notice, but that is not a universal rule. The applicable clause may also address reasonableness, shorter notice by agreement and employees who start after notice has been given. Record the clause and obtain workplace relations advice if the position is unclear.
Keep a decision sheet with the proposed last working day, first day back, employees affected, essential services, applicable instruments and the person authorised to approve the arrangements. EJN-HR's HR policies and contracts support is relevant when documents and everyday processes need to line up.
Make a planning register without exposing private leave details
Separate the operational coverage plan from individual leave balances and personal circumstances. A manager arranging cover usually needs to know whether a task is covered, who owns it and how to escalate a problem. They do not need an employee's medical information or a copy of the entire personnel file.
Use these headings in the operational register:
Work that continues: the task or service, its priority and the required capability.
Owner and backup: two named roles, with authority to make the relevant decision.
Handover location: the approved system containing current instructions.
Availability arrangement: agreed working hours and any separately reviewed on-call requirements.
Open decision: what remains unresolved, who will decide and by when.
Check public holidays separately. They may affect leave deductions and pay, and they differ by state or territory. A shutdown and a stand down are also different situations; do not use the terms interchangeably.
Resolve insufficient leave before issuing a blanket message
An employee may not have enough accrued annual leave to cover the proposed closure. Do not automatically put them into a negative balance or unpaid leave. Fair Work's end-of-year guide explains that alternatives depend on the applicable rules and agreement with the employee.
Prepare a private list of cases requiring a decision. For each, record the question, the source checked, any permitted options, the discussion and the agreed outcome. Keep that decision out of the shared coverage calendar. Payroll should receive approved instructions, not infer a leave arrangement from an empty roster.
Test one handover before the office closes
Fictional example: a six-person business closes its front office while one manager handles essential client enquiries. The team initially assumes that the usual administrator will monitor messages from home. A planning discussion reveals that no such arrangement has been agreed and the manager cannot access the current response instructions.
The practical correction is to agree an appropriate coverage arrangement, give the authorised person access to the instructions and test one fictional enquiry. Any employment or payment questions are resolved through the applicable process. The test checks the handover; it does not establish that an on-call arrangement is lawful.
The same principle sits behind our 30-day people-process improvement plan: an action is finished when the working process has been checked.
Before you send the final shutdown notice
Confirm that dates and affected roles are correct, the required notice and authority have been checked, individual exceptions have an owner, payroll instructions are approved, and essential work has a tested backup. Keep a dated copy of the final notice and a record of how it was provided.
Give employees a route to ask questions about their arrangements. As our policy acknowledgement guide explains, a record of receipt does not establish that the instructions are understood.
For NDIS and other care services, office closure does not itself pause participant supports. Workforce cover and communication need a separate continuity plan appropriate to the service.
Questions small employers ask
Is 28 days' notice always enough?
No. Check the actual award or agreement clause and the circumstances. Many awards use 28 days, but a copied template is not a substitute for that check.
Can we automatically use unpaid leave when annual leave runs out?
Do not assume that. Check the applicable rules and resolve the employee's arrangement before instructing payroll.
What belongs in the shared holiday coverage plan?
Tasks, owners, backups, approved handover locations and escalation routes. Keep individual leave balances and sensitive personal information in restricted records.
Get the admin ready early
If your shutdown planning still depends on inbox searches and informal promises, book EJN-HR's free 20-minute HR review to discuss the process and documentation. Specific entitlement questions should go to Fair Work or an appropriate workplace relations adviser.
General process education for Australian employers. Official guidance checked 12 October 2026. Requirements depend on the employment arrangements and circumstances.
