10th Nov 2020, 1:46 PM – Senate Economic Recovery Package (Jobmaker Hiring Credit) Amendment Bill 2020 - in Committee - Safeguards

The majority voted in favour of amendment (1) on sheet 1066, which was moved by NSW Senator Mehreen Faruqi (Greens). This means it failed.

What did this amendment do?

Senator Faruqi explained that:

As the bill currently stands, there is no dispute resolution process for resolving issues relating to the JobMaker hiring credit. Those issues include workers who might be fired, for instance, or who have their hours reduced. This will leave workers without access to necessary protections.

Amendment text

(1) Schedule 1, page 3 (before line 27), before item 5, insert:

4C Before section 8

Insert:

7C Requirements for rules that provide for jobmaker hiring credit scheme—ineligibility for firing employees etc. to obtain payments

(1) This section applies if rules are made for the purposes of subsection 7(1A) that provide for a kind of payment known as the jobmaker hiring credit.

(2) The rules must provide that if:

(a) an entity terminates the employment, or reduces the ordinary hours of work, of an existing employee of the entity; and

(b) a purpose of doing so (whether or not the sole or dominant purpose) is any of the following:

(i) to engage one or more other employees in respect of whom the entity can claim the payment;

(ii) to facilitate an associated entity (within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001) of the entity engaging one or more other employees in respect of whom the associated entity can claim the payment;

(iii) to otherwise enable the entity or associated entity to be eligible for the payment or increase the amount of the payment to which the entity or associated entity is entitled;

then the entity, and the associated entity (if any), are not eligible for the payment in respect of any employees.

(3) To avoid doubt, this section and rules made for the purposes of this section do not limit the Commissioner's powers under section 19 (contrived schemes).