The Fair Work Act has undergone a number of changes in recent times, and this includes the granting of paid family and domestic violence leave, which now also affects small businesses. Employees in Australia are entitled to 10 days of paid leave, each year and this applies to both permanent and casual employees.
Paid family and domestic leave is separate to sick leave and carers leave (personal leave) and the entitlement of 10 days each year starts from their first day of employment. This 10-day entitlement resets on their employment anniversary each year. This means if an employee used 5 days of paid family and domestic leave in one year, on the date of their employment anniversary the leave entitlement resets to 10 days. Casual employees are entitled to be paid for any hours they would normally be rostered to work if they had not have taken family and domestic leave.
Employees can take this leave for the following reasons, making arrangements including relocation for their safety, or the safety of a close relative, attending court hearings, accessing support services or attending related appointments including counselling, medical, legal and financial.
If an employee takes paid family and domestic leave employers will need to keep records of the amount of leave an employee has taken and leave balances, however, this information can not be recorded on the employee’s pay slip. This is so that the employee can not be identified as having accessed family and domestic leave. It is recommended that the pay slip look as similar as possible to the employee’s normal pay slip.
Employees are required to provide notice that they will be taking paid family and domestic violence leave as soon as possible however this can be after the leave has started. Employees are also required to inform you of how long they expect to be off work for. You can ask for evidence to demonstrate the requirement for the employee to take leave and that it’s not practical to manage the impact of family and domestic violence outside of normal work hours. The types of evidence that can be used include, documents issued by police, court documents or family violence support service documents. As this can be complex, the MTA’s Workplace Relations team are available to discuss each situation and confirm the required evidence for particular scenarios.
At all times employers are required to take all reasonable steps to keep any information they receive confidential.
Employees who have worked with the same employer for 12 months or longer also have the right to request flexible working arrangements if they are experiencing or supporting an immediate family member who is experiencing family and domestic violence. An employer is required to respond to any request for a flexible working arrangement within 21 days and cannot unreasonably reject a request.
If you have any questions or require more information, please contact the MTA Workplace Relations Team on 8291 2000, or at wr@mtasant.com.au
