Why you must prepare to fight for your role

In conversation with Lawyers Weekly, Ms Stebbing – who is the founder and principal of employment firm Resolution123 – said individuals must check over their superannuation, salary continuance, leave and employment entitlements, as well as their general financial situation, as it will “arm you with the information you need” in order to make informed choices in the event that one’s law firm or legal employer experiences a downturn.

“It arms you with a checklist of things to negotiate with your employer before accepting redundancy or part-time hours,” she explained.

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“Typically, in this order, you should consider the following: work from home, take your accrued leave, consider a temporary reduction in hours/pay, consider redeployment, unpaid leave and only as a last resort, redundancy.”

According to Law on Lydiard principal Paul Cott, such preparedness leads to more substantive communication when required.

“If an increased diligence is kept on these things, then open dialogue can best be facilitated with employers, where both parties come to the table with a more informed and fuller picture,” he explained.

“Information is king, or key in that armed with a fuller picture of all relevant considerations, a lawyer will be better placed both with regards to the current dialogue but also the medium to long-term considerations.”

1.       Superannuation

“One, you should always understand your general financial position and that includes your super balance, how your fund is performing and whether your employer contributions are up to date. Two, because super is one of the first things employers stop paying when cash flow gets tight, if your employer contributions are not up to date address it immediately, it is a sign of financial distress. And three, because the government has announced that individuals can draw on their super to support them over this difficult time, up to $10,000 this financial year and $10,0000 in the next financial year,” she said.

Mr Cott agreed, saying one’s super “is about the future”.

“Despite the fact that the current crisis is about the now and the immediate future, super is important for the long term and it would be short-sighted to ignore the long-term implications. This is also relevant to the fact that as regards super, your funds will be taking a hit right now but again it is critical to look at the long term rather than the short term,” he said.

2.       Leave entitlements

“Knowing what your accrued entitlements are will help you plan through this. You can check them using the [online Fair Work tools] and the long service leave calculator in your state/territory,” she said.

3.       Salary continuance

4.       Other entitlements

“As a general rule right now, job retention/ redeployment is a better option that redundancy. Don’t accept or push for a redundancy until you know your entitlements, they may not be enough to get you through this,” she suggested.

5.       General financial situation

“How much is your mortgage/rent, how much are your essential expenses? Do you have enough in savings to cover your essential expenses for say the next three to six months? If not, how much do you need to cover them?” she submitted.

“The answers to these questions will put you in the best position to make informed choices on whether you can accept a reduction in hours or pay, if asked.”

Mr Cott agreed: “As regards leave, salary continuance, and other entitlements, an eye needs to be on the future and what that holds and these things ‘feed into’ that. As to the general financial situation, of course that [impacts us] all, employers and employees alike, and so this needs to be monitored, while always ignoring the hort-term] bumps.”

Looking ahead

Everyone should be focused on job retention right now, Ms Stebbing concluded.

“No one wants to enter the unemployment line or compete in a crowded job market. Get on the front foot and discuss how COVID-19 is affecting your employer’s business and your job, consult with your employer and discuss all options, cooperate, now is not the time for disputation, it is the time to work together to get to the other side,” she advised.

“Understanding your financial position and work rights gives you agency over your life. In a time of uncertainty, knowledge is key.”

Mr Cott supported this, adding: “There are sources of information which in the current climate we should all be using, and I have seen a trend at the moment whereby people are offering advice and information in a fair more free and open way, often for no cost as well – get out and there and find these sources!”