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Running a business

Christmas Shutdown: How To Close Your Office for the Holidays

By QuickBooks Australia

Published on November 8, 2024

As the holiday season draws near, it’s time to think about your Christmas shutdown and temporarily closing your office. This break allows you and your employees to relax and enjoy some much-needed time off. However, to shut down your business for the Christmas break, you need to carefully plan in advance to ensure the start of your holiday is seamless and hassle-free.

To assist you, we’ve created a guide on what you need to know about closing for the holidays. We’ve also included a Christmas closure notice template that you can use to keep your clients, customers and partners informed.

What is a Christmas shutdown?

‘Shutdown’ (or ‘close-down’) refers to the temporary closure of a business during a holiday period such as Christmas and New Year. This is a common practice that gives all staff an opportunity to switch off and enjoy some well-earned rest.

As you prepare your business for the shutdown period, you’ll need to consider the leave arrangements for your employees. Keep reading to find out about the legal requirements for staff leave.

What is the Christmas shutdown period?

The holiday season in Australia is at the end of the year, between late December and early January. This period coincides with several public holidays:

Christmas Day (25 December)
Boxing Day (26 December)
New Year's Day (1 January)
Australia Day (26 January)

Holiday dates may differ slightly from year to year, so it's important to double-check the precise dates. Be sure to refer to your state’s laws concerning public holidays and the legal obligations for your employees, such as penalty rates and provisions for temporary shutdowns.

If you decide to keep your office open during the holiday season, you will need to keep in mind the rules around public holiday pay. Read our guide to public holiday pay to learn more.

Legal Obligations and Employee Annual Leave

It’s important to be aware of the regulations about directing your employees to take annual leave during the shutdown period. Most awards and enterprise bargaining agreements contain specific requirements for directing annual leave during a closedown period. These requirements can vary, so it's important to check the award or agreement to ensure you stay compliant.

When telling your employees they need to take annual leave, you need to be reasonable, direct them in writing with a Christmas closing notice, and make sure they’re informed within the required notice period for their award.

If your employee's award or agreement does not include a provision for a shutdown, then you are not allowed to direct an employee to take annual leave. However, you can ask them if they’d be willing to take annual leave, and they are allowed to agree if they choose.

For more information, you can review our guide on forced annual leave.

Holiday Office Closure Email: Keep Everyone Informed

Before you close your office for the holidays you should send a Christmas holiday closure notice email to your clients and partners. Whether you prefer a formal tone or a more relaxed and playful approach, it's important to ensure that your clients and partners are aware of your absence and the appropriate contact information for urgent matters.

Holiday Office Closure Email Template

You can use this office closed for holiday message template to inform your clients and partners about the shutdown:

Hello there,

I wanted to inform you in advance that our office will be closed for the holidays and our team will be taking time to relax with friends and family. The office will be closed from [holiday start date] to [holiday end date].

During this time, there might be a delay in responding to your messages. In case you have an urgent request, feel free to reach out to [name of colleague] at [email] for assistance. If your message is not urgent, we will get back to you as soon as we are back in the office.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

Kind Regards,

[Name]

If you need to send a card for the holidays, have a look at our holiday card templates for businesses.

Office Closedown Checklist

When you close your office there are a lot of things to do. To help you keep track of items you need to do use our holiday office closedown checklist. This checklist will help you avoid any last-minute stress and help you have a hassle-free closure:

How QuickBooks Can Help

Closing your office during the holiday season helps your team receive a well-deserved break during a slow period. Remember to use our checklist and Christmas closure template to make your office shutdown easy and hassle-free.

Although managing your holiday office closure requires careful planning and adherence to legal obligations, QuickBooks can be a valuable ally. With QuickBooks accounting software, you can automate invoice payment reminders, recurring bills and payroll.

Enjoy your well-deserved holiday break, and return to the office rejuvenated and ready to tackle the challenges of the New Year. Make sure your accounting systems continue to run smoothly by signing up to QuickBooks Online today with a free 30-day trial.

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