Paid Family & Domestic Violence Leave Update
Compliance Update – Paid Family & Domestic Violence Leave
Are you up to date?
When the government changes, so do a range of things including compliance. At the end of 2022, we had a look at the first round of Industrial Relations Reforms that were announced and what we could expect in 2023.
Short answer: a lot.
In February 2023, significant changes were made to the Domestic Family & Domestic Violence Leave.
The major difference is that it used to be unpaid leave and is now paid leave. The Labor Government also pledged $153 million to end Family and Domestic Violence so this is a top priority on their agenda while they’re in office.
We dive deeper further below into the specific changes to this leave entitlement and what you need to be on top of as an employer.
What’s becoming clear, however, with the current government is that pleading ignorance around compliance obligations isn’t going to cut the mustard anymore and breaches of these new laws are going to be costly.
What is Paid Family & Domestic Violence Leave?
Family & Domestic Violence Leave already existed in the Fair Work Act – it was just unpaid. So while the leave entitlement is not new, the rules around it have changed.
Family and Domestic Violence Leave is a type of leave that any employee can take if they are experiencing family and domestic violence, or they need to do something to deal with the impact of this type of violence which cannot be done reasonably outside of work hours.
How are Family and Domestic Violence Defined?
Services Australia defines Family and Domestic Violence as:
“Any behaviour that’s violent, threatening, controlling or intended to make you or your family feel scared and unsafe can be considered family and domestic violence.”
They also go on to note that:
“Family and domestic violence isn’t always physical. It can happen to anyone, at any time, no matter their age, gender or sexual orientation. It can happen anywhere, including at home, institutions such as a school, religious setting or care home, or at work.”
Perpetrators and victims of family and domestic violence could be close relatives. A “close relative” can be defined as a spouse or former spouse, de facto partner or former de facto partner, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling.
This includes the child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling of the employee's current or former spouse or de factor partner, and a person related to an employee according to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander kinship rules.
What is the leave entitlement?
All employees, this includes full-time, part-time and casual employees will be entitled to 10 days of paid Family & Domestic Violence Leave per year.
Unlike other forms of leave, part of the significant change to this entitlement is that casual employees receive paid leave and it is not accrued on a pro-rata basis for part-time employees.
Does the entitlement accrue?
No.
- These days of leave cannot be rolled over from year to year.
- The Family and Domestic Violence Leave renews each year based on when your organisation introduces this legislation or when an employee is hired.
- If you employ 15 or more employees (including regular casuals), from 1 February 2023 all of your employees will automatically have access to this 10-day paid Family & Domestic Violence Leave.
- The yearly refresh occurs on:
- 1 February for businesses with more than 14 employees
- 1 August for small businesses with less than 14 employees
- For new employees who join after 1 February or 1 August 2023 this leave will kick in on their employment date
What do you need to do as an employer to be compliant with the new Paid Family & Domestic Violence Leave?
- Know your obligations
We’ve covered the key obligations you need to be compliant with as an employer, namely the dates this leave entitlement comes into effect for your business.
- Visit the Fair Work Australia site to ensure you are compliant
This is something we recommend all our clients do on a regular basis to ensure that they are keeping up to date with compliance.
- Develop a workplace policy regarding updates to the Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave
While not every workplace needs a policy regarding updates to this leave entitlement, it can help to update or create a policy to ensure that the requirements for both employer and employee are clearly communicated and documented.
- Ask for help
It’s not always easy to stay on top of compliance updates, particularly significant changes like the introduction of this Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave. This is especially true if you don’t have in-house HR support. If in doubt – ask for help. It’s far cheaper to engage a consultant than it is to pay a fine for being in breach of the law.
Because of the complex nature of this compliance update, Kristy-Lee from People Powered HR is offering a one-off, half-hour consult call that you can book and prepay for by clicking here.
Get the help you need, today.
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