Australian business owners and employers will need to provide employees with paid family and domestic violence leave. This update introduces mandated domestic violence leave australia wide to support individuals impacted by family and domestic violence.
What is family and domestic violence leave?
The new family and domestic violence leave entitlement means all employees in the Fair Work system (including part-time and casual employees) get 10 days of paid leave in 12 months. The full 10-day leave entitlement will be available upfront and won’t accumulate from year to year if it’s not used.
For employers with 15 or more employees, the new entitlement commenced on 1 February 2023.
For employers with less than 15 employees, the new entitlement commenced on 1 August 2023.
Employees will continue to be entitled to 5 days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave until they can access this new family domestic violence leave setup.
What constitutes family and domestic violence?
According to 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 facto partner, or
- a person related to the employee according to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander kinship rules
What should business owners and employers do?
From 1 February 2023, there are rules about information that must not be included on an employee’s pay slip relating to paid family and domestic violence leave, including leave balances and leave taken. This is a safety provision to reduce any risks to employees who need to use their domestic violence leave, keeping the use of fdv leave confidential.
Additional funds have been allocated to help small businesses create a compliant family and domestic violence leave policy and manage this paid domestic violence leave.
When can employees access this leave?
This leave is available to employees if they need to do something to deal with the impact of family and domestic violence. This could mean accessing support, and services, ensuring the safety of a relative or family, and attending hearings, counselling, or other medical and legal appointments.
Employees must notify their employer as soon as possible if they need to take leave.
What should employers do next?
Peninsula has worked with thousands of business owners across Australia and New Zealand in matters of employment relations and workplace health and safety.
We are currently updating our resources with all relevant information. Contact Peninsula today for free initial advice.
This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute as business or legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. It does not take into consideration your specific business, industry or circumstances. You should seek legal or other professional advice regarding matters as they relate to you or your business. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Peninsula Group disclaim all liability for any errors or omissions contained in this information or any failure to update or correct this information. It is your responsibility to assess and verify the accuracy, completeness, and reliability of the information in this article.