Members should be aware of upcoming changes to the Family and Domestic Violence Leave entitlements under the National Employment Standards (NES) and proposed amendments to the Paid Parental Leave framework.
Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave
1. Entitlement to leave
All employees, including casuals, can access 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave which renews yearly on their employment commencement date. This leave does not carry over from year to year.
This entitlement will be available to employees from:
- 1 February 2023 (if the business employs 15 or more employees)
- 1 August 2023 (if the business employs under 15 employees)
Employees can access this leave if they experience family and domestic violence and need to deal with the impact of that violence if it is impractical to do so outside their ordinary hours of work.
The definition of “family and domestic violence” has been expanded in the Fair Work Act 2009 to include violent, threatening, or other abusive behaviour by “a member of an employee’s household”, or “a current or former intimate partner of an employee”, rather than just a “close relative” of the employee.
Examples of when this leave can be taken includes:
- planning for their safety or the safety of a close relative (including relocation)
- attending urgent court hearings
- accessing police services
2. Rates of pay and evidence requirements
Payment for this leave will be the full rate of pay for hours that full and part-time employees normally work and for casuals, it will be for the hours they were rostered to work.
Employers can ask for evidence, but only to the extent that it would convince a reasonable person of the need to take such leave.
Paid Parental Leave Changes
Subject to passage of the proposed legislation, Parental Leave Pay and Dad and Partner Pay will be combined into a single 20-week pool of leave from 1 July 2023, allowing both parents to jointly decide how the leave will be taken. This combined Parental Leave Pay will then increase by 2 weeks each July until 2026.
There will be a combined household income threshold of $350,000.00, which may allow for an eligible claim even if the individual income threshold of $156,647.00 is exceeded. Parents can take limited paid leave at the same time and may take it in short blocks. This will only affect employees who have a baby on or after 1 July 2023.
This information is a guide and is not intended to be legal advice. For more information, please contact Business Solutions Hub on 1300 445 687 or at [email protected]