New legislation has passed both houses of parliament and will come into effect from 1 February 2023 which enables employees to access 10 Days of Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave each year.
The amendment changes the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act) and replaces the current entitlement of five days of unpaid leave with 10 days of employer paid family and domestic violence leave for eligible employees each year in the National Employment Standards (NES).
Full-time, part-time and casual employees will be able to access 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave in a 12-month period. It won’t be pro-rated for part-time or casual employees.
The full 10-day leave entitlement will be available upfront. It won’t accumulate from year to year if it’s not used.
The leave will be available from 1 February 2023, for employees of non-small business employers (employers with 15 or more employees) and 1 August 2023, for employees of small business employers (employers with less than 15 employees).
Employees (including part-time and casual employees) can take this paid leave if they need to do something to deal with the impact of family and domestic violence.
This could include, for example, the employee:
- making arrangements for their safety, or the safety of a close relative (including relocation)
- attending court hearings
- accessing police services
- attending counselling
- attending appointments with medical, financial or legal professionals.
Under the new provisions, family and domestic violence means violent, threatening or other abusive behaviour by an employee’s close relative, a current or former intimate partner, or a member of their household that both:
- seeks to coerce or control the employee
- causes them harm or fear.
A close relative is:
- an employee’s
- spouse or former spouse
- de facto partner or former de facto partner
- child
- parent
- grandparent
- grandchild
- sibling
- a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling of an employee’s current or former spouse or de fact partner, or
- a person related to the employee according to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander kinship rules.
Non-compliance with the proposed paid family and domestic violence leave provisions will give rise to breaches of the civil remedy provisions under Part 4-1 of the Fair Work Act, exposing employers and individuals such as managers, to significant monetary penalties and other court orders.
For full details visit https://www.fairwork.gov.au/newsroom/news/new-paid-family-and-domestic-violence-leave
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