New workplace laws effective from 1 August 2018 now give staff the opportunity to take unpaid leave to deal with domestic violence matters affecting them directly or their families.
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) will soon update all industry and awards to include these new provisions.
What is the family and domestic violence leave entitlement? Employees covered by an award, that the new legislation applies to, are entitled to 5 days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave each year. Family and domestic violence means violent, threatening or other abusive behaviour by an employees family that:
· seeks to control the employee
· causes them harm or fear
Employees can take the leave if they need to deal with the impact of family and domestic violence and it's impractical to do so outside their ordinary hours of work.
Who does it apply to? The new entitlement applies to all employees covered by an industry or occupation award. It doesn't apply to employees who are covered by:
· Enterprise awards
· State reference public sector awards
· Enterprise and other registered agreements
· or are award and agreement free
What should I do? Should you require any further advice regarding family and domestic violence leave entitlements, please don't hesitate to contact Hinterland Accounting for assistance in locating the correct point of contact or more information.