From the 1st of February 2023, full-time, part-time and casual employees of non-small business employers* became eligible to access up to 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave per year. The 10 days apply to all employees and are not pro-rated for part-time or casual employees, however, part-time and casual employees will only be paid for the hours they are ordinarily rostered.
The leave entitlement is available up-front and renews each year on the anniversary of each employee’s commencement date.
Unlike annual leave, however, family and domestic violence leave will not accumulate year to year, if it isn’t used/accessed.
For small business employers**, the new leave entitlement will commence from the 1st of August 2023.
All employers are cautioned that rules apply to the details permitted to be included in payslips, for the sake of employee safety. The Fair Work Ombudsman website states:
“For pay slips, employers are prohibited from including information that shows:
- that an amount paid to an employee is a payment for paid family and domestic violence leave
- a period of leave taken by an employee has been taken as paid family and domestic violence leave
- an employee’s paid family and domestic violence leave balance.
When an employee takes paid family and domestic violence leave, employers can record it on the pay slip in other ways, for example as ‘leave – other’.”
*Non-small business employers are defined as those with 15 employees or more as at the 1st of February 2023.
**Small business employers are defined as those with fewer than 15 employees as at the 1st of February 2023, NOT the 1st of August 2023.