WORKPLACE RELATIONS TIP FOR SEPTEMBER 2018
Fair Work Commission dishes out Family and Domestic Violence Leave to everyone!
Effective 1 August 2018 all employees covered by modern awards are entitled to five (5) days per annum of unpaid Family and Domestic Violence Leave.
The leave does NOT apply to employees covered by an Enterprise Agreement although one can foresee that the entitlement will find its way into Enterprise Agreements fairly quickly.
Family and domestic violence means violent, threatening or other abusive behaviour by an employee’s family member that:
- seeks to coerce or 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 is impractical to do so outside their ordinary hours of work.
All employers need to be aware that if an employee requests this leave it must be granted provided there is reasonable information available to support the application for leave. The employee has to give as much notice “…as is possible in the circumstances”. Remember: the leave is unpaid.