The question many owners ask first
For many owners, this matters as much as the price. Some of your people have been with you for twenty years. You know their families. They carried the business on the days you couldn't. Selling can feel like deciding their future without asking them.
It helps to separate two things. There is what the law says must happen, and there is what the buyer chooses to do. The law sets a floor. The buyer decides everything above it.
What the law says in Australia
How your people move across depends on how the sale is structured. A buyer either buys the shares in your company, or buys the business itself, meaning its equipment, name, customers and goodwill.
If the buyer buys the shares, the company stays the employer. Nobody's job, pay or leave changes on settlement day. Their employment simply carries on.
If the buyer buys the business itself, each person's job with you ends and the new owner offers them a job. The Fair Work Ombudsman calls this a transfer of business. The new owner must then count their years with you for most things, such as sick and carer's leave and parental leave. When we buy a business, we buy its assets, not the shares, so this is how it works with us.
A few things are worked out between you and the buyer:
- Annual leave. It either carries across to the new owner, or you pay it out at settlement.
- Redundancy. If the buyer offers your people a comparable job and recognises their years with you, redundancy pay is generally not owed. If the buyer won't recognise that service, you may owe it.
- Notice. Their job with you technically ends, so notice, or pay instead of notice, is part of the paperwork.
Long service leave is set by each state, not by Fair Work, and each state has its own rules. In most states, long service leave follows the employee to a buyer who keeps them on. Check the rule for your state with your accountant or lawyer.
In practice, these amounts are usually settled in the price. A buyer who takes on your team's leave takes on a cost, so it is normally adjusted at settlement. Your accountant will work out the figures.
In New Zealand the rules are different, and Employment New Zealand explains them.
This is general information, not legal advice. Please check the details for your business and your state with your accountant or lawyer.
What the buyer chooses to do
This is the part no government page can answer, and it often matters more.
Some buyers keep everyone for a few months, then restructure. Some bring in their own managers from day one. A buyer who plans to sell again in a few years has a reason to cut costs quickly. So ask every buyer plainly what they plan for your people, and ask for it in writing.
How we look after your team
Your team is a big part of what makes the business what it is. They know your customers and have kept everything running day to day for years. That knowledge and trust cannot be replaced overnight, and we don't try to.
- Jobs. Our plan is retention, not replacement. We know transitions can be unsettling, so during that period we make a point of repeating the truth often: your team matters, and everyone's jobs are safe.
- Leadership. Someone has to take on your role. We give real preference to someone from within the business, and if they show potential we put in the effort and resources to help them step up. More on who takes over when you step back.
- Pace. Whoever takes on your role spends time in the business, working alongside your people and learning how it operates, before stepping fully into the role.
- Change. It wouldn't be honest to say nothing will change. Any changes we make are designed to preserve the business, not to alter it for the sake of change.
We learned this first hand. On day one at Nikita's first business, a 40 year old electronic security business, she stood in front of the team and talked about continuity and job security. It didn't remove the underlying uncertainty. That confidence had to be built over time, through presence and consistent follow through. You can see how selling to us works, step by step.
When and how to tell your staff
Many owners wait to tell their team until a sale is close to certain, rather than while it is still being explored. Telling people early can unsettle them over a deal that may not go ahead.
With us, you stay in control of that timing. A strict confidentiality agreement is in place from day one, and nothing happens without your say so. Before our written offer we only need your high level financials, with no employee information. If input from staff is needed, it is usually left until the back end of the process, and we work with you to handle it carefully. Site visits can be scheduled after hours.
When the day comes, your people should hear it from you.
Your name over the door
The name is part of the legacy of the business. It is also an asset, because it's a name customers trust and recognise. Unless you give us a compelling reason to change it, we won't.
What it looked like at CMR
CMR Recycling in Mackay has a team of 24. When Peter Bourke sold it to us, he spoke about the people. Today his son Ronnie runs CMR as general manager, with two experienced managers beside him.
The staff that we leave her with are very well experienced in the industry. The core group are a great group, and I'm sure they'll work well with her.