Introduction of paid family and domestic violence leave

On 9^th November the Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Bill 2022 received royal assent.  This means from next year, employees will be able to access 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave within a 12 month period.  The entitlement includes both casual and part time employees and is very welcome change to the National Employment Standards for victims of Family and Domestic Violence.

The 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave replaces the current entitlement of 5 unpaid family and domestic violence leave under the national employment standards.  The benefit of the new standards is that the leave does not need to be accumulated, ie you will be entitled to the full 10 days upfront as required, however the leave is not accrued, it will not transfer from year to year if it is not used. 

Key points to be aware of

• 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 on 1 February 2023)
  • 1 August 2023, for employees of small business employers (employers with less than 15 employees on 1 February 2023).
• The new leave provisions will be independently reviewed after 12 months to consider the impacts on small businesses, sole traders and people experiencing family and domestic violence.
• Employees will continue to be entitled to 5 days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave until they can access the new paid entitlement.
• The leave renews every year on the employees work anniversary

Taking family and domestic violence leave

Employees are able to take paid family and domestic violence leave if they need to do something related to the impact of family and domestic violence and is not available to them outside of working hours. 

For example:

• 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.

An employee will need to notify their employer know as soon as possible.  Their employer can ask their employee for evidence to show that they took leave to deal with family and domestic violence and it’s not practical to do this outside their hours of work, however, an employer can only use this information for business purposes and cannot be used for other purposes, including taking action against the employee.

Payment for leave

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.

Casual employees will be paid at their full pay rate for the hours they were rostered to work in the period they took leave. 

Support services

Confidential information, counselling and support for people impacted by family and domestic violence is available at the 1800 RESPECT website, the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service. 

Find out more about the current rules at Notice & evidence for family and domestic violence leave. 

Find out more information about the upcoming paid family and domestic violence leave at https://www.fairwork.gov.au/newsroom/news/new-paid-family-and-domestic-violence-leave

If this article has prompted questions for you, please contact us on 8525 2700 or click here to request an appointment with one of our experienced Family Law Team.

Article by Kate Allenby
Photo by Photo byUnsplash