The redundancy budget relies on an incomplete employee count

The payroll screen shows only one business

A hypothetical employer budgets no redundancy pay because its payroll screen shows a small team. The owner also controls another employing business, and several casuals work recurring shifts. Stop treating the screen total as the legal answer. Give the employment adviser the wider workforce information before confirming either the budget or an employee's entitlement. This article concerns assessment under the national workplace system.

Build a dated workforce list

Record who employed each person and the proposed termination date, using payroll and employment records. Identify the employees whose roles are being removed rather than deleting them from the working list. Keep uncertain employment arrangements visible for advice. A headcount prepared after the proposed departures may answer a different question from the one needed to assess those departures.

Check the counting rules and exceptions

The Fair Work Ombudsman explains that the redundancy count includes regular and systematic casuals and employees of associated entities. Its guidance also identifies exceptions involving industry-specific schemes and some insolvency-related downsizing. Ask the adviser to apply the rules to the actual arrangements. Being described as a small business does not settle every redundancy-pay question.

Source: Fair Work Ombudsman: Who does not get redundancy pay

Resolve uncertain entries with records

In the hypothetical example, provide the casual roster history and the ownership information for the other business. Ask what else is needed to establish whether each person belongs in the relevant count. Do not assume that separate payroll files prove separate treatment, or that every casual must be excluded. Retain the evidence behind the adviser's conclusion alongside the dated list.

Update the budget from the assessed result

Have the employee-by-employee calculation prepared under the applicable award, agreement and other entitlements. Show the assessed redundancy amount separately from wages, notice and leave. If the position remains unresolved, identify the uncertainty in the funding plan instead of silently entering zero. An exemption from one payment would not establish that all final employment costs disappear.

Keep the basis available for explanation

Save the count, supporting records, advice and calculation version used for the proposed decision. CRP can help incorporate the assessed costs into the cash plan. The practical outcome is a budget supported by the relevant workforce and rules, with unresolved facts referred for advice before anyone relies on a convenient payroll total.