Running an automotive business requires flexibility.
Customer demand changes. Workshop bookings fluctuate. Staffing requirements increase or decrease. Employees request different working arrangements, and businesses sometimes need to restructure to remain commercially viable.
These are normal challenges for employers.
However, one of the more common mistakes in employment management is assuming that because a change makes good business sense, the employer is automatically entitled to implement it.
A commercially reasonable decision is not necessarily a legally permissible employment change.
Changing an employee's hours
Consider a business that no longer requires an employee to work full-time.
Perhaps the workload has reduced, or the business wants to introduce a different roster.
The employer may believe that reducing the employee's hours is the obvious solution.
But there is an important distinction between changing a roster and changing an employee's contractual employment conditions.
An employer may have some flexibility to alter working arrangements under the applicable Award, agreement or contract.
However, reducing a permanent employee's guaranteed hours or changing their employment status will generally require agreement or another lawful basis.
Simply issuing a new roster does not necessarily achieve that.
Where a change to regular rosters or ordinary hours is proposed, applicable consultation obligations must also be followed.
When the employee requests the change
The position can be different when the request comes from the employee.
An employee returning from parental leave may request part-time hours, different working days or altered starting and finishing times.
The employer does not automatically have to approve the requested arrangement.
However, eligible employees have rights under the National Employment Standards to request flexible working arrangements.
Employers must follow the required process, including discussing the request, genuinely attempting to reach agreement, considering the consequences of refusal and responding in writing within 21 days.
A refusal must be based on reasonable business grounds.
Simply saying that the arrangement does not suit the business is unlikely to be sufficient without properly identifying and explaining the operational difficulties.
What about Christmas shutdowns?
The approaching Christmas period presents less of a challenge than other years, as for many businesses, a close down of 3 days between Christmas and New Year is probable, with annual leave required on Tuesday 29, Wednesday 30, and Thursday 31 December 2026.
In the week before, but more likely the week after Christmas and New Year, many employees will want to have extra time off to extend their holidays, which will complement any reduced volume of work.
Automotive businesses that close completely or maintain limited operations, can direct employees to take annual leave.
Under clause 29.6 of the Vehicle Repair, Services and Retail Award, an employer may direct affected employees to take accrued paid annual leave during a genuine shutdown of all or part of its operations, subject to specific requirements.
These include generally providing at least 28 days' written notice, unless a shorter period is agreed with the majority of relevant employees, and ensuring the direction is reasonable.
However, simply operating with fewer employees does not automatically establish that a genuine shutdown of part of the business has occurred.
The actual operational arrangements need to be considered.
Restructuring and redundancy
Where a business genuinely no longer requires a particular position, redundancy may be appropriate.
But redundancy is not simply a mechanism for changing an employee's conditions or removing someone who does not agree with a proposed arrangement.
The employer must establish the genuine operational reasons, comply with applicable consultation obligations and consider reasonable redeployment opportunities.
The process matters just as much as the underlying commercial decision.
A practical approach
Before implementing a workplace change, employers should ask:
- What exactly needs to change, and why?
- Does the existing contract, Award or agreement permit the change?
- Is employee agreement required?
- Are there consultation, notice or other procedural obligations?
- Have reasonable alternatives been considered?
These questions should be answered before announcing the change.
Businesses are entitled to make commercial decisions. The important thing is understanding how those decisions can lawfully be implemented.
MTA NSW members considering changes to working hours, rosters, leave arrangements or workforce structures should contact the Employment Relations Team before communicating a final decision to employees.