The Albanese Government has today announced it will grant early access to the Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) for workers impacted by the closure of the clothing retailer Mosaic Brands Group.
The Group operated under brand names including Millers, Noni B, Rivers, Katies, Autograph, Crossroads, W.Lane and Beme, through 666 physical stores and an online business.
Several thousand Mosaic Group workers have either lost their jobs or are expected to lose their job due to the closure, putting the entitlements of many of these workers at risk. These workers are spread across Australia, they are largely women, working part time and with caring responsibilities. We understand that their entitlements are often their lifeline.
The Government has brought forward the timing of when affected workers can access their unpaid entitlements, as part of our continued efforts to ensure that Australian workers are getting paid fairly, for a fair day's work.
FEG is an Australian Government safety net scheme ensuring workers are paid their employee entitlements, should their employment end due to the insolvency of their employer, and no alternative avenue exists to fund their entitlements.
Eligible workers are 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 Albanese Government is fast-tracking access to the scheme for up to approximately 2,800 employees - when their employment has ended they will be able to apply to have their outstanding entitlements paid out earlier and not have to wait until the Group is placed into liquidation.
The Department of Employment and Workplace Relation's (DEWR) Structural Adjustment and Support team are also working with the receivers to provide support for affected employees.
An on-the-ground transition support network (TSN) made up of representatives from DEWR national, state and territory offices together with Employment Facilitators, can assist retrenched workers to find a new job as soon as possible.
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Murray Watt said the Government was stepping in to ensure workers get what they're owed.
"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," Minister Watt said.
"Around Australia approximately 320 stores are still operating - progressively closing down as they run out of stock and employees are then let go.
"Staff are largely women, many balancing part-time employment with care responsibilities, and highly reliant on their pay, so we want to ensure they have as much certainty as possible around their finances going forward.
"I'm very pleased the Albanese Government has stepped in to ensure workers will get their entitlements paid earlier under the FEG, no matter what happens to the business."
