Bookkeeping, public holidays, and leave.
5 things your bookkeeper needs at Christmas
Leave, public holidays, and shutdowns affect all small business, including your bookkeeper. Here are our top 5 things you can do to help us keep your business running smoothly this Christmas / New Year period.
- Prepare invoices in advance. If you know they are coming, especially if they need scheduling during Christmas/New Year, let’s get them done now (at the beginning of December).
- Provide us with an accurate leave calendar comfortably in advance so we can make sure records and timesheets are correct.
- Leave extra time for the pay run, as it may take longer than usual due to the additional leave and public holidays.
- Give us plenty of notice if you would like a pay run on a different day during the shutdown period (this can ensure pay is received before, not after, a public holiday).
- Save it until the new year. If it’s not urgent, please don’t ask. Now is not the time for system changes, staff training, planning your business in 2024, or ‘a quick on-site meeting’. We love helping with all these things, but not until we are all back on board in February.
Bookkeeping, Leave, and Christmas shutdown
While the Christmas / New Year period can be peak season for some businesses, others will temporarily close (Shutdown) for some or all of this time.
Employment conditions for all employees are governed (as a minimum) by employment awards. Fairwork updates, in May 2023, included adjustments to shutdown terms:
- Employers may require employees to take paid annual leave during a temporary business shutdown.
- 28 days written notice to all impacted employees is required unless reduced by a negotiated agreement with the majority of affected employees.
- The requirement to take annual leave must be reasonable.
Some differences between awards still apply, some do not cover shutdown at all, and some employee contracts go further than the award. If neither the award nor contract cover shutdowns, employers cannot force an employee to use their leave or take unpaid leave.
Bookkeeping and public holidays
Public holidays have different implications for payroll and leave depending on whether a staff member is casual or ongoing. Employers must ask all employees before rostering on to work on a public holiday. The request must be reasonable, but so must any refusal. What is reasonable comes down to whether the employee’s agreement entails working on public holidays, the amount of notice provided, any pay increase applicable, the employees personal circumstances and the type of work undertaken.
Awards and agreements differ. Your payroll specialist bookkeeper can advise which apply for your team, and what the payroll implications are.
Casual
Casual employees are often engaged on contracts that include working on public holidays. These contracts and awards will determine the additional penalty rates, loadings, overtime, allowances or bonuses that may apply.
Ongoing
Ongoing employees are usually given leave at their usual pay rate on public holidays where they would typically work unless otherwise agreed upon in their employment contract. Requests for employees to work on public holidays should be agreed in writing between business owners and staff members.
Good bookkeeping at Christmas
Good bookkeeping goes beyond mere compliance. Good bookkeeping makes your life easier and your employees’ life better at this time of year. Some tips to consider:
- Confirm shutdown dates early so your team can plan their leave and holidays. If you always close for a set period, can you publish next year’s dates now?
- Work with your bookkeeper early to ensure they have what they need.
- If public holidays will impact pay runs, schedule the pay run earlier so employees have the money the day before, not the day after. This small gesture creates goodwill that your business will reap back in spades.
- Most Christmas parties and gifts under $300 per person don’t attract fringe benefits tax. Save time and money on bookkeeping by keeping gifts and Christmas parties under the magic $300 number.
- Save complications at the end of the financial year by paying Christmas bonuses instead. You pay the same either way, but your team may appreciate it at a time when expenses are running high.
For more great bookkeeping ideas, contact Lucy at Lucy Pedley Bookkeeping for a free initial consultation.