New entitlements were introduced on 1 February 2023 for employees who experience family and domestic violence. The paid family and domestic violence leave is available for employees of non-small business employers. If you are an employer with less than 15 employees, this can be accessed starting from 1 August 2023.
All employees in the Fair Work system are entitled to 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave within a 12-month period. This newly introduced entitlement has replaced the previous 5 days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave under the National Employment Standards (NES).
Important notes include:
- 1 February 2023, for employees of non-small business employers
- 1 August 2023, for employees of small business employers.
- This includes part-time and casual employees.
- The leave does not accumulate from year to year if it isn’t used
- The leave renews on the anniversary of when they employee started working for the employer (not on the anniversary of the relevant start date).
The leave can be taken when an employee is experiencing violent, threatening or other abusive behaviour by a close relative, a current or former intimate partner, or a member of their household. The employees can take this leave to make arrangement for their safety, attend court hearings, access police services, attend counselling or attend medical, financial or legal professional appointments.
Full-time and part-time employees can take paid family and domestic violence leave at their full pay rate for the hours they would have worked if they weren’t on leave. There are specific payment slip requirements that must be followed when reporting the leave. These rules advise how information is to be reported on the employee’s payment slip to reduce the risk of an employee’s safety. Rules about an employee having to provide notice and evidence are the same as the currents rules for taking unpaid family and domestic violence leave.
For information and rules regarding the entitlements for family and domestic violence leave visit: https://bit.ly/3jVXrlF
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