Provisional decision by the Fair Work Commission to implement 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave
Key points
- It is anticipated that full-time and part-time award covered employees will soon be eligible to access 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave per year.
- The date this entitlement will come into effect has not yet been finalised.
- All employees, including casuals, can continue to access five days of unpaid FDV leave per year in the meantime, under the National Employment Standards.
The Fair Work Commission has issued a provisional decision to provide 2.3 million full-time and part-time employees covered by modern awards with an entitlement to 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave annually.
Under the current National Employment Standards, all workers (including casuals) are entitled to access five days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave per year.
However, on 17 May 2022 a provisional decision was made by the Fair Work Commission to provide full-time and part-time employees covered by a modern award with access to 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave each year. The leave will accrue annually but will not exceed 10 days.
Please note, this decision is not yet finalised and the Commission has asked for input from interested parties before issuing a final decision.
Who is eligible to apply for family and domestic violence leave?
An employee who is a victim of family and domestic violence may access this leave to respond to the impact of family and domestic violence, where it is impractical to do so outside of regular working hours.
Reasons an employee may take family and domestic violence leave include:
- to attend police interviews or court hearings
- to plan for their safety or the safety of a close family member
- to attend appointments with counselling, medical or legal providers
Applying payment to family and domestic violence leave will help individuals to:
- sustain their economic security
- access appropriate services
- safely remove themselves from a life of violence.
Employer Concerns
There have been some concerns raised by business groups about the increased costs associated with the new paid entitlement. However, the Fair Work Commission anticipates that the take-up of the paid family and domestic violence leave entitlement would likely be low. In addition, the current estimated spend associated with family and domestic violence leave due to increased absenteeism and lost productivity sits at $2 billion annually, which is far costlier for businesses.
Effective Date
There is no set effective date as the decision isn’t yet finalised. Given that there have been some concerns raised by business groups, the Fair Work Commission will liaise with relevant parties, giving them the opportunity to raise any objections, before the details are finalised and entitlements come into effect.
Casual Employees
At this stage, the Fair Work Commission has advised that casual employees have been excluded from the new paid family and domestic violence leave entitlement.
Casual employees will continue to be eligible to access up to five days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave each year under the National Employment Standards.
Action for employers
Although the decision is not yet finalised, it is important for employers to prepare by:
- keeping an eye out for developments in this area over the coming months. Once the decision is finalised, you may need to speak with your bookkeeper or payroll provider to ensure you have a family and domestic violence leave category available in your payroll software.
- reviewing or developing a workplace policy which provides guidance for employees experiencing family and domestic violence, in respect to accessing leave or additional support.
If you would like further guidance or assistance with reviewing or developing policies and procedures regarding family and domestic violence leave, or approaching difficult employee conversations, please do not hesitate to contact the team at Allan Hall HR.
Looking Ahead
Some unions and business advocates are calling on the federal government to apply 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave to all employees covered by the National Employment Standards (including casuals and contractors). They are advocating for family and domestic violence leave to be inserted into the National Action Plan to end violence to women and children. Given this activity, we will likely see more announcements coming soon in respect to these leave entitlements.
Contact us
Our experienced HR Consultants are available to support you with any employee-related questions. Please get in touch with us today on 1300 675 393 or at [email protected].