Family and Domestic Violence Leave

WORDS SALLY DAVIES

1 February 2023 saw a key change in Family and Domestic Violence Leave rights for workers. The changes are happening in two stages:

• From 1 February 2023: full time, parttime and casual employees of ‘non-small business employers’ (employers with 15+ employees) are entitled to 10 days of paid family domestic violence leave annually.

• From 1 August 2023: employees of ‘small business employers’ (employers with fewer than 15 employees) are entitled to 10 days of paid family domestic violence leave annually.

Family and domestic violence are defined as “violent, threatening or other abusive behaviour by a close relative of an employee, a member of an employee’s household, or a current or former intimate partner of an employee, that seeks to coerce or control the employee, and causes the employee harm or to be fearful".

The employee is entitled to the leave if they are experiencing family and domestic violence and they need to do something to deal with the impact of the family and domestic violence, and it is impractical for them to do that task outside the employee’s work hours.

Some examples of this in The Fair Work Act are arranging for the safety of the employee or a close relative (including relocation), attending court hearings, accessing police services, attending counselling or attending appointments with medical, financial or legal professionals.

The leave is a minimum entitlement for all employees falling under the National Employment Standards. The entitlement does not accrue from year to year and is available, in full, at the start of each 12-month period of the employee’s employment. The leave can be taken in any period of time as needed, anywhere from less than a day to a 10-day block, and the employee must comply with the notice requirements in The Fair Work Act.

We recommend that business owners familiarise themselves with the new entitlements and consider whether any changes need to be made to their documents, including the implementation of a policy outlining the procedure to apply for such leave.

If you need assistance in relation to employment law matters, please contact Jenkins Legal & Advisory on 02 4929 2000 or email office@jenkinslegal.com.au