22 February 2012
Find out the difference between a ‘stand down’ and redundancy, and what your entitlements and obligations are.
Stand down
An employer can ‘stand down’ an employee without pay in some circumstances. This means that while the employee is still employed by the business, they aren’t required to work and aren’t entitled to be paid.
Under the Fair Work Act, an employer can stand down employees when work stops for a reason that is outside of the employer’s control. For example, if there machinery or equipment breaks down or there is a natural disaster that affects the business. Modern awards and agreements may also have their own stand down provisions.
You can find out more about stand down on the Work is temporarily shutting down page.
If the stand down provisions don’t apply then an employee is entitled to be paid wages - even if they aren’t working.
Redundancy
A job is redundant when it’s no longer required to be performed by anyone. This can happen for a number of reasons, including when an employer becomes insolvent or bankrupt, or if they decide they no longer want an employee’s job to be done by anyone.
An employee who has been made redundant is no longer employed by the business. Under the National Employment Standards, employees may be entitled to redundancy pay. The amount they’re entitled on will depend on how long they worked for the business. Find out more in the Redundancy section.
What if the business is insolvent or bankrupt?
Under General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme (GEERS), employees can claim certain entitlements that their employer can’t pay them because they have gone into liquidation or are bankrupt. For details and to lodge a claim, visit the GEERS website 
, call the GEERS Hotline on 1300 135 040 or send an email to GEERS@deewr.gov.au.