Employees of non-small business employers (more than 15 employees) can now access 10 days of Family and Domestic Violence Paid Leave. Employees of small business (less than 15 employees) can access the leave from the 1st of August 2023.
Employees are entitled to the full 10 days upfront, meaning they won't have to accumulate the leave over time. The leave also does not accumulate from year to year if it is not used. The leave will renew every year on each employee's work anniversary.
Employees can take this paid leave if they need to do something to deal with the impact of family and domestic violence. Examples could include: making arrangements for their safety or the safety of a close relative; attending court hearings; accessing police services; attending counseling or; attending appointments with medical, financial or legal professionals.
Under the new provisions - family and domestic violence means violent, threatening or other abusive behavior by an employee's close relative, a current or former intimate partner or a member of their household that both seeks to coerce or control the employee or causes them harm or fear. A close relative is an employee's spouse (or former), de facto partner (or former), child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling.
An employer can ask their employee for evidence to show that the employee needs to do something to deal with family and domestic violence and it's not practical to do that outside their hours of work.
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