Employees may claim up to 13 weeks of unpaid wages, among others
Employees impacted by the closure of clothing retailer Mosaic Brands Group have been granted early access to the government's entitlements scheme to cushion the financial impact of the shutdown.
Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt said the government is fast-tracking access to the Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) to approximately 2,800 employees who will be affected by Mosaic's closure.
"FEG is usually activated once a business has gone into liquidation, but the Albanese Government recognises that this has been quite a stressful, drawn-out process for a group of workers who depend very heavily on their pay coming in," Watt said in a statement.
Under the FEG, employees will be able to claim up to 13 weeks of unpaid wages, unpaid annual leave and long service leave, payment in lieu of notice (up to five weeks), and redundancy pay (up to four weeks per full year of service).
The guarantee comes as Mosaic Brands Group announced the closure of various brands under it, including Millers, Noni B., Katies, Rivers, among others.
The group operates 666 physical stores and online business, but Watt said only around 320 Australian stores are still operating, which will progressively shut down as they run out of stock.
Impacted employees by the closure are largely women, particularly those who are balancing part-time employment with care responsibilities.
"[They are] highly reliant on their pay, so we want to ensure they have as much certainty as possible around their finances going forward," Watt said.
The FEG is an Australian safety net scheme that ensures employees get their entitlements in case their employment ends due to the insolvency of their employer.
In addition to early access to the scheme, the Department of Employment and Workplace Relation (DEWR) said it will also provide support for affected employees.
A transition support network made up of representatives from DEWR national, state, and territory offices, together with Employment Facilitators, will also assist the retrenched workers to find a new job.
