2022 Christmas Close Down Essentials for Businesses

Have you planned for end of year closure and the new year?

Planning for the Christmas shut down period, end of the year and the start of new year is something that often slides off business owners’ plates. The last quarter of the year can feel like a race to the finish line, wrapping up projects, getting things ready for a break, and possibly even burning out as you hurtle towards the short holiday that usually comes over the Christmas and New Year period.

It sounds counterintuitive to then add planning into the mix – business owners want to be doing the bare essentials and planning is one of those things that often isn’t considered essential at this time of year.

This period of time is one of the most critical periods for a business and where planning ahead for both your business and your team can set you up for a smooth new year. Christmas close down periods are when our teams, our employees, are taking time off, spending it with their family, travelling, catching up on the life things working weeks often don’t create space for.

This chunk of time is often when people are making plans for their year ahead, new years’ resolutions, reflecting on the year that just passed and prioritising their long-term goals.

It is why January is the peak time for resignations in business because our team make changes. They think about things differently over this period. If we are not ahead of the game we can lose good people very easily – not by doing anything wrong but just by not being proactive.

The other reason why this last part of a year is a great time to plan is because you want to prioritise what the new year is going to look like for you. Without planning and prioritising your new year can quickly get away from you and you find yourself just going through the motions and not really fulfilling yourself through your business.

As you head into this time of year, keep these two key points in mind when it comes to planning:

1. Get clear about your future vision for the next 12 months and communicate it with the team before the year ends, invite input on certain areas to involve the team, and provide clarity about what lies ahead.

2. Make time for 1:1 conversations with your team to understand what’s important to them in the coming year. Ask about future goals, what they want to achieve in the next 12 months and see if you can align business goals with their goals.

What are the compliance requirements during the End of Year and New Year periods for small businesses?

There are some legal requirements that businesses need to follow around Christmas close downs but not everyone business owner is always clear on what these are and how to implement them. There are a few key areas that business need to be compliant over this period of time and they are:

• Award vs non-Award employees and their entitlements
• Christmas close down notice periods
• Leave vs leave without pay depending on particular awards and leave accrual
• Public holidays

Award vs non-Award employees and their entitlements
Depending on whether your employees are covered by a modern award or various different modern awards or if you have a team of non-award covered employees, your compliance requirements will differ so understand what you need to do as an employer.

Many of the modern awards have very strict requirements about the notice period you need to provide around Christmas close downs. Some of them are four weeks, some are eight weeks but many of the awards have specific stipulations. If you don't comply with the award stipulations you can leave yourself open to having to pay employees for that period and not being able to use their leave.

Christmas close down notice periods
Get really clear and be clear with the team because you do need to give notice about the Christmas close down periods. You can do this via a meeting, followed up by written notice via emails or record of meeting minutes, the staff newsletter and in individual chats with your team – but you must give ample notice.

Leave vs leave without pay depending on particular awards and leave accrual
In most cases you can instruct employees to take annual leave during this period. If they don't have enough leave accrued in most cases you may be able to instruct them to take leave without pay but it's not the case with every award so double check your award to make sure that that is a possibility for your business and employees.

Public holidays
There is a smattering of public holidays in Australia throughout the Christmas closed down period that still need to be paid as public holidays. Just because your business is closed doesn’t not absolve you from the responsibility to pay public holiday pay during those periods.

Is there anything else I should consider for my small business?

There are a few considerations during this time of year that may not be obvious but a lot of business in our online HR support community have bought up since the pandemic.

1. Christmas parties
While not obvious, there can be a certain amount of risk associated with a staff Christmas party depending on how it’s been set up. Things around creating a safe party environment, whether that’s the location, setting boundaries, not serving alcohol, and ensuring that transport to and from the venue is accessible can help mitigate risks involved. Be clear about whether staff need to pay, whether they’ll be paid for their time at the Christmas party and any other details related to their attendance.

2. Recognise, Reward, Celebrate
The end of year is one of the best times to acknowledge the efforts and wins of your team, collectively and individually. Don’t underestimate the value and impact of a handwritten or personalised card that provides specific recognition. Rewards can be big or small, a box of chocolates, covering the Christmas party cost, it doesn’t have to be expensive but don’t skip this step. Celebrate the highs, making it through together with the lows, the individual and collective contributions of your team. This can be through a single message the team, like an email, a letter, a speech at the Christmas party, and is a great way to end the year on a positive note that leaves your team feeling like they matter, they’ve done good work and looking forward to returning next year.

3. Manage excessive leave accruals
The end of year is also a tricky time where some employees might have excess leave accrued and is a great time of year to encourage them to take this type of leave however unless they have excessive leave in accordance with your award, you can't instruct them to beyond your standard shut down period leave requirements. Particularly after the pandemic, a lot of employees haven’t been able to take regular holidays and travel or might not be able to afford to take a holiday. For whatever reason, accrual of excessive leave can be problematic over the long term so ensure that you’re across the range of processes and if it’s a quiet time of year consider closing an extra week as part of standard requirements.

Don't skip planning for the Christmas close down period.

There are many considerations for closing down during the Christmas period and planning for the end of year and new year is a critical part of running a business that shouldn’t be skipped.

Ensure that your journey into the end of the year is purposeful and prioritise compliance, recognition and celebration and long-term planning that involves your team.

An invitation to join a thriving business community

If you struggle with end of year closures and compliance and new year business prioritisation, I’d love for you to join us inside our free Facebook Group where you can connect with other like-minded business owners, leaders and managers to discuss all things HR: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia