New NES entitlement to 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave

The Commonwealth Parliament has passed laws establishing a new National Employment Standard (NES) entitlement to 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave for all employees.

What your business needs to know

1. The new paid entitlement applies to permanent employees and casual employees in place of the existing entitlement to 5 days unpaid leave.
2. The new paid entitlement comes into force on 1 February 2023 or 1 August 2023 for a small business with less than 15 employees.
3. The leave is available to an employee where it is impracticable to deal with the impact of family and domestic violence outside working hours such as arranging for the safety of the employee or a close relative (including relocation), attending court hearings, accessing police services, attending counselling and attending appointments with medical, financial or legal professionals.
4. The entitlement is to 10 paid leave days in a year commencing from the employee’s commencement date and is not cumulative or carried forward.
5. An employee must give notice of the taking of such leave and evidence if required by the employer which must be treated confidentially.

Recommendation

We recommend that all employers review their current letters of offer and employment contracts and update this new NES entitlement pending further significant changes to be introduced in the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill before Parliament.

Should you wish to further discuss any aspect of this, please contact Workplace Relations Special Counsel Tim Greenall.