Hours Reduced by 60%, Not Eligible for Job Keeper, Can You Claim Job Seeker?

uk3000 on 22/06/2020 - 10:06
Last edited 22/06/2020 - 11:05 by 1 other user

TL;TR: A person got her hours reduced down to 40%. The company says Job Keeper isn't an option. Can she claim any Job Seeker payments?

TS;WM: An extended family member got her hours reduced by 60%. I.e., she's gone from a full-time employment to 2 days per week. She's now making less than $1.5K fortnightly and less than her rent payments.

Apparently, only very few people at her workplace were put at this position. She was told by the management they can't claim Job Keeper for her, as overall financially the company is doing all right and hence they don't meet the criteria for Job Keeper. They also won't make her redundant and instead keep promising to re-instate her full-time when work picks up.

Ironically, as the work seems to start picking up, they now ask her to go back to the office beyond those 2 days - on demand. This is backed by a verbal promise to pay later for her now-extra hours. So far, nobody talks about going back to the original full-time arrangements anymore.

More so, under her current contract she's still a full-time employee and just being on an unpaid leave 3 days per week. And as a full-time employee she's not allowed to engage in any other paid job in her industry.

Naturally she's looking for another job and she doesn't want to resign before finding a new one.

Is she eligible for any Job Seeker payments in this situations? Should she have a chat with FairWork?

Thanks for your opinions!

Education & Work

Comments

  • brendanm on 22/06/2020 - 10:14
    +2

    No. If she quits she would be eligible

    • jimbobaus on 22/06/2020 - 11:21
      +1

      after a 12 week wait (if you quit a job you are ineligible for jobseeker payments for 12 weeks)

      • brendanm on 22/06/2020 - 12:41

        I thought they'd waived the waiting period with the covid, must have been something else.

        • jimbobaus on 22/06/2020 - 12:42

          they waived the mandatory 2 week wait when going on payments regardless of situation.

  • Janoy Cresva on 22/06/2020 - 10:17
    -2

    no chance, you cant have it both ways - work and get meds (jobseeker)

  • acer4una on 22/06/2020 - 10:20
    +2

    It doesn’t hurt to give FairWork a call right? How can she not be paid for the extra hours she did?

  • Meho2026 on 22/06/2020 - 10:21
    +5

    No they are not eligible for Job Seeker. You would know that if you had bothered using google.
    If they are not on Job Keeper then the employer can not just reduce her hours and pay. If she agreed to the reduction in hours and pay then that could be a problem.
    Read this https://fairworklegaladvice.com.au/the-answer-is-in-the-fine…

    • Hellfire on 22/06/2020 - 11:47
      +1

      This is a very important point. If she is full-time or part-time she can't have her hours/pay reduced unless the company receives JobKeeper or she agrees.

  • PissLUR on 22/06/2020 - 10:22

    does she has any dependent? how about parenting payment?

    • uk3000 on 22/06/2020 - 11:14

      They have a child. Her husband started a small business just before the outbreak. Presumably he is not eligible for any Centerlink payments because the business didn't generate any income at that time.

  • indium on 22/06/2020 - 10:23
    +1

    From a quick look you need to be on less than $1075 a fortnight.

    Who is eligible for the government’s Coronavirus support payments and how do you receive them?

  • aspirepranesh on 22/06/2020 - 10:26
    +4

    Jobseeker, Yes you can. I did the same, but mine got declined because my wife had a casual job then and our total income was above the $79,000 threshold, which is up from $49,000.

    If her partner is not working or their total household income is less than $79,000, she would be able to get Job seeker assistance (the amount varies though) and she would have to provide pay slips every 2 weeks.

    Couple of people at my work have done this.

    Fairwork, Yes! If they are not eligible for Job Keeper and they have no valid reason to reduce the hours and she hasnt signed anything as they cant legally change her contract(especially if the whole business is not taking reduced hours), she should definitely go to fairwork.

    • mapax on 22/06/2020 - 10:51

      Were you actually going to look for work or is that not a requirement at the moment?

      • aspirepranesh on 22/06/2020 - 11:23
        +3

        I have never been on any benefits before. I would have no idea how that works.

        But Jobseeker ha(d)s a provision that if your hours have been affected(Full time/Part time/Casual), you're eligibile to apply for benefits as long as you still meet the criterias.

        My situation is one where I am forced to work 3 days a week and my partner still has some casual hours, so we don't meet the pay threshold.

        I did this 2 months ago, but looks like they have updated the conditions now.

    • uk3000 on 22/06/2020 - 13:53
      +1

      Thank you, I think this might be very helpful.

  • kerfuffle on 22/06/2020 - 10:32
    +1

    Unrelated, but what does TS; WM mean? Also it's TL; DR for too long, didn't read

    • screwball on 22/06/2020 - 10:42
      +2

      It's the opposite to TL;DR (Too long, didn't read).. it means "Too Short, Want More"

    • uk3000 on 22/06/2020 - 11:16
      +2

      "Too short; want more" :)

    • uk3000 on 22/06/2020 - 15:33

      I think "TL;TR" still a valid acronym for Too long; to read.

      • kerfuffle on 22/06/2020 - 17:26
        +1

        Yeah but the more commonly used term is tl; dr

  • tsunamisurfer on 22/06/2020 - 11:19
    +2

    If you are paying $1500 per fortnight in rent you are doing life wrong.

    • uk3000 on 22/06/2020 - 15:28

      Pardon my ignorance. Last time I looked at Sydney rental prices, $750 per week was a typical price for "an OK" 2-bedroom apartment in a family-friendly suburb with a decent school. That was long before the outbreak. Have things changed drastically since then?

  • [Deactivated] on 22/06/2020 - 11:24
    +2

    You have that income and come to ozb, doin it wrong

    • uk3000 on 22/06/2020 - 12:53

      I'll deliver that message

  • AncientWisdom on 22/06/2020 - 16:07
    +1

    Should she have a chat with FairWork?

    Yes.

    /thread

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