Fair Work Commission

See Fair Work Act s.524

A jobkeeper enabling stand down direction is different to a direction to employees to stand down under s.524 of the Fair Work Act.

Under s.524, an employer can stand down an employee during a period in which the employee cannot usefully be employed because of:

• industrial action (other than industrial action organised or engaged in by the employer)
• a breakdown of machinery or equipment, if the employer cannot reasonably be held responsible for the breakdown, or
• a stoppage of work for any cause for which the employer cannot reasonably be held responsible.

An employer does not have to qualify for the jobkeeper payment scheme to stand down an employee under s.524, and does not have to make payments to the employee for the period of the stand down.

The Fair Work Commission can deal with disputes about stand downs under s.524. See the Commission’s Industrial action benchbook for more information on standing down employees under s.524 of the Fair Work Act.