Family and Domestic Violence Leave Update February 2023
Under new legislative changes to the Fair Work Act, commencing on 1 February 2023, employees of non-small business employers (15 or more employees) can now access 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave in a 12 month period. This is a change from the entitlement of 5 unpaid Family and Domestic Violence Leave days also in a 12-month period.
Employees of small businesses employers (less than 15 employees) can access this entitlement from 1 August 2023. In the meantime, the current 5 unpaid days of Family and Domestic Violence Leave remains in place for employees to access.
The entitlement to paid or unpaid family and domestic violence leave comes from the National Employment Standards (NES). It’s a minimum leave entitlement, which all employees are entitled to should they require. The 10 day entitlement of family and domestic violence leave will reset on the employee’s anniversary date year.
Critical Points for Employers
- Check that your business is compliant with the new workplace legislation. If you have a current policy that references Family and Domestic Violence Leave and you are a non-small business employer, then ensure any reference to entitlements is updated and correct.
- Ensure the business payroll systems and employment contract templates are compliant with these new laws.
- Ensure you understand how the leave accrues.
- Pay slips must not reference that family and domestic violence leave has been taken, either with days taken or remaining balances. This is to reduce the risk to an employee’s safety when accessing paid family and domestic violence leave. A payslip should look the same as it would have as if the employee had not taken leave at all.
- Consider how you could respond to Family and Domestic Violence being raised in the workplace (keep Fair Work’s Employer Guide to Family and Domestic Violence for tips should you need).
- Understand what evidence requirements you can request.
How Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave is Accrued and Paid
An employee’s 10 day paid leave entitlement is available in full immediately from the date the legislation applies to the workplace (1 February 2023 for businesses who employ 15 or more employees, or 1 August 2023 for businesses who employ 14 or less employees) and resets on the employee’s work anniversary. It doesn’t accumulate from year to year.
The leave is for a full 10 days, which means it is not pro rata for casual or part time employees and an employee and employer can agree for an employee to take less than one day at a time.
Full time and part time employees 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. This includes allowances that ordinarily would be paid.
For more information and to keep up to date with updates as they happen, refer to the Fair Work Ombudsman website.
