Last month, the Fair Entitlements Guarantee Amendment Bill 2014 (Cth) (Bill) was introduced into Federal Parliament.
Currently being debated in the Senate, the Bill will amend the operation of the Fair Entitlements Guarantee Act 2012 (Cth) (commonly the FEG Scheme).
Current scheme
Under the current iteration of the FEG Scheme financial assistance is provided to eligible employees who lose their job due to the insolvency of their employer to cover certain unpaid employment entitlements. This includes financial assistance for:
Amendments
The major proposed amendment to the current scheme is to align the maximum redundancy pay entitlement under the FEG Scheme with the maximum set by the National Employment Standards (NES) contained in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Act).
If the amendment is passed, the new maximum redundancy pay entitlement under the FEG Scheme will be 16 weeks’ pay.
A number of technical non substantive amendments are also proposed, including to:
Lavan Legal comment
The changes to the FEG Scheme are to commence on 1 January 2015 (assuming it is passed by the Senate prior to that time) or the day after Royal Assent is given.
The changes to the FEG Scheme will bring consistency and predictability to claims and adjudication of unpaid employee entitlements.