The Australian Government has launched a Jobs Hub website to help Australians find work during the Coronavirus pandemic. The Jobs Hub advertises the latest vacancies from businesses across Australia.
In this rapidly changing jobs market the Australian Government is supporting businesses and those Australians looking for work.
While many businesses have been adversely affected by COVID-19 and are reducing their workforces, there are some areas of the economy which have an increased demand for workers.
This includes jobs in health and care sectors, transport and logistics, some areas of retail, mining and mining services, manufacturing, agriculture and government sectors, among others.
Registrations are open for small businesses, and other eligible employers, to apply for a 50 per cent wage subsidy of their apprentice’s or trainee’s wage from 1 January 2020 to 30 September 2020.
This will provide urgent financial assistance to help businesses retain their existing apprentices and trainees through the Government’s $1.3 billion Supporting Apprentices and Trainees package.
The government is supporting small businesses to retain their apprentices and trainees. Eligible employers can apply for a wage subsidy of 50 per cent of the apprentice’s or trainee’s wage for nine months from 1 January 2020 to 30 September 2020. Where a small business is not able to retain an apprentice, the subsidy will be available to a new employer. The wage subsidy will be claimable for wages paid since 1 January 2020.
Employers can register for the subsidy from 2 April 2020. Final claims for payment must be lodged by 31 December 2020.
The subsidy will be available to small businesses employing fewer than 20 employees who retain an apprentice or trainee.
The National Retail Association (NRA), Australian Retailers Association (ARA), the Pharmacy Guild of Australia (PGA) and the Shopping Centre Council of Australia (SCCA) have announced their shared commitment to ensuring business continuity in response to a common set of principles outlined by the Prime Minister relating to commercial leasing.
“We sat down immediately after the Prime Minister’s announcement to come together in good faith and continue our ongoing discussions to ensure landlords and tenants are working together,” NRA CEO, Dominique Lamb, says.
ARA CEO, Russel Zimmerman, adds, “our industry has a track record of working together, including on challenging issues, and this is about working together and assisting policy makers in the next phase given our group’s longstanding engagement on retail leasing issues”.
PGA national president, George Tambassis, says pharmacies are under immense pressure “as frontline health resources during this COVID-19 crisis, and they need the certainty and consistency that can be provided by this Code”.
Shopping centre owners and retailers have a mutual interest in business continuity and SCCA executive director, Angus Nardi, says, “it’s positive to have a unanimous and timely approach to tackle the pressing challenges we all confront in the current environment in a way that is fair and balanced to everyone”.
In the meantime, shopping centre owners and managers have been granted interim authorisation to discuss and implement rent relief measures for small to medium shopping centre tenants facing hardship because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ACCC has allowed shopping centre owners and managers to jointly develop a plan to help their small business tenants, including franchisees and licensees, which have a turnover of up to $50 million per year. The plan could include an offer to defer or reduce rents and other payments, waive interest payments and extend leases.
“Support for small and medium businesses in this difficult time will help the economy start up again when the pandemic has subsided,” ACCC chair Rod Sims says.
“We are allowing shopping centre owners to work together to come up with a plan to support their tenants experiencing financial difficulties. Nothing in the proposal stops individual owners from offering more generous concessions to their tenants.”
