1. Commercial tenancies
Today the commercial tenancies code for COVID–19 impacted businesses was announced. The mandatory code will apply to Tenfold clients who are or become eligible for the JobKeeper program (i.e. where your business’ revenue has fallen by 30%).

• Commercial landlords are legally required to engage with tenants who meet the criteria about rental arrangements.
• Landlords must reduce rent in proportion to the reduction in the tenant’s business.
• Rent reduction can be a waiver (i.e. rent will not payable by the tenant) or a deferral in rental payment. Waivers will have to account for at least 50 per cent of the reduction in rent. Deferrals (i.e. rent that is still payable but pushed out) must be spread over the remaining time on a lease and for no less than 12 months. Landlords will not be able to charge interest on unpaid rent.
• Rent increases will be frozen.
• Landlords must not terminate a lease or draw on securities (e.g. bond or director’s guarantee).
• Tenants must honour the lease.
• There will be a binding mediation process.
• Landlords will not be able to enforce penalties on tenants who stop trading or reduce opening hours – this mostly relates to businesses operating in shopping centres.
• Legislative and administrative process relating to lease extensions will be removed.

What this means for Tenfold clients that are eligible for JobKeeper:
Your landlord must reduce your rent by the proportion that your revenue has decreased (minimum of 30%). At least half of that rental reduction must be a waiver of rent. The balance of the discount can be a deferral.

What this means for Tenfold clients that are NOT eligible for JobKeeper:
If your revenue has decreased but not enough to qualify for JobKeeper, there are still things you can do:

• Speak with your coach about plans and options for negotiating better rental terms. You still have some leverage in this current climate to negotiate a deal outside the government mandated code.
• If appropriate, put your landlord on notice that you expect at some point soon you will qualify for JobKeeper and you will be entitled to the mandated rent reduction.

This was the second major cost reduction area, after labour, that I identified in the email to Tenfold clients on 1st April and I believe is a fair sharing of the pain between landlords and tenants.

2. Update to enable reduced work hours, changes to role and use of annual leave
The Fair Work Act will be changed to allow businesses to reduce an employee’s work hours without having to go through some of the specific endorsement processes that certain awards and agreements require.

• Consult with your employee about the changes to their hours. Treat them fairly and explain what the reduced hours will mean to their role and the business.
• Once you have reached an agreement with each employee on the reduced hours, put it in writing and have them sign a copy to acknowledge the change.

• you can change their ordinary days of work (for example, you can ask a part timer to work Wednesday instead of Tuesday);
• you can’t change their hourly rate;
• you can’t require them to work more hours than they will be paid for.

As you can see, it’s still a complex process to make changes to employees’ work and hours.  Speak with your coach and they will assist you to assess the most appropriate way to handle this so you get agreement with your staff and protection for your business.