Employee entitlements safety net

The Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) is available to employees who weren’t paid their entitlements because their employer went bankrupt or into liquidation on or after 5 December 2012 (the date FEG came into effect).

For employees who weren’t paid their entitlements because their employer went bankrupt or into liquidation on or before 5 December 2012, these entitlements fall under the General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme (GEERS) (the predecessor of FEG). FEG and GEERS are administered by the Federal Government’s Department of Employment (DOE).

Eligible employees can claim:

• Up to 13 weeks of unpaid wages
• Unpaid annual leave
• Unpaid long service leave
• Up to 5 weeks of unpaid payment in lieu of notice
• Up to 4 weeks of unpaid redundancy entitlement per year

While this is great news for employees, the average timeframe for receiving payment after lodging a FEG claim is three to five months (depending on the DOE’s workload). In addition, FEG and GEERS don’t cover unpaid superannuation.

It’s also unavailable for:

• Excluded employees (e.g., company directors, principals of bankrupt employers and their relatives, etc.)
• Contractors
• Subcontractors
• Agents
• Shareholders
• Investors
• Volunteers
• Anyone owed money by the employer for reasons other than employee entitlements

For more information:

• Visit the FEG and GEERS pages of the Attorney-General’s website
• Contact DOE on 1300 135 040
• Use the DOE’s feedback and enquiry form