J. Furphy & Sons – Flood Impacts

Wednesday, 19 October 2022.

As you will all be aware, our region has been significantly impacted over the weekend by flooding across much of our region, with the after affects continuing into this week and beyond. Many of our staff and their families have been directly impacted by the flooding with damage to houses, having to leave their house, being isolated, or being unable to move around due to road closures etc. Our immediate thoughts are with all of our staff that have been directly affected, including those who still do not know the condition of their homes.

In terms of impacts to our business:

  • The Corporate Centre was closed on Monday due to limited staff availability but has resumed normal operations since Tuesday
  • Engineering has continued operating with a reduced workforce and a number of admin staff working remotely
  • Galvanizing has been closed for the week to date due to limited staff availability but is expected to re-open tomorrow, albeit with reduced staff numbers

We sincerely thank those staff that have been able to come into work, particularly those that are still dealing with flood impacts through their personal situations.

With respect to supporting our staff that remain unable to attend work due to the impacts of the floods:

  • Pay for Monday and Tuesday has been processed as normal meaning all staff will be paid even if they were not able to work
  • For the next pay week the following support will be in place
    • Staff will be able to utilize annual leave or sick/carer’s leave to cover absences due to being unable to attend work or having to remain at home while schools/childcare is closed
    • We are working to better understand, and support staff in gaining access to, government support payments which are available – we aim to send further detail around this shortly
    • Where staff have insufficient leave to cover absences, our aim is to directly support staff such that they maintain an income whilst establishing the government support
  • Unpaid leave may be granted where staff are involved in community support/recovery activities

This has been a difficult and stressful time and all staff are reminded that we have an Employee Assistance Program in place which can provide support to staff and their immediate families who may be struggling to cope. ACTCurious offer general and crisis counselling and can be contacted via mobile: 0438 922 979 or e-mail: hello@actcurious.com.  Further information is available at their website www.actcurious.com. ACTCurious also offer assistance to Managers/Team Leaders to may need additional help in supporting their teams during difficult times.

We will continue to monitor the situation as it unfolds and will provide further updates in due course. If you have any immediate questions or concerns please contact your manager.

Stay safe

Greg Lewis
CFO