FWC in support of paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave

On Monday, FWC full bench handed down its review decision that all modern awards should be amended to provide employees with 10 days of paid family and domestic violence (FDV) leave per year and is calling for participants to formulate a draft model term.

At the moment, workers have access to 10 days of unpaid FDV leave per year, so this latest decision is a substantial improvement for award covered employees.  

In reaching this decision, FWC highlighted that FDV is a workplace issue, and its increased prevalence during the COVID-19 pandemic makes this a pressing problem for employers and employees in the wider community. This also comes after calls from the ACTU and gender equality organisations to include provisions for paid FDV leave in order to meet the WHS recommendations from the Jenkins Respect@Work report.

How will this look in reality?

We think it is highly likely that FWC will move ahead with implementing this decision. However, how this will actually look remains unknown. As FWC have called for submissions, the final product is likely to include specific evidentiary or notice period requirements for employees. It could also be that given the substantial nature of this change, FWC might put a moratorium on FDV leave before its commencement.

FWC expressed no view about whether the NES should be varied, as this is “a matter for Parliament, not the Commission”. This means that only award covered employees will receive this benefit until Parliament makes any legislative change. This may not occur for a while, especially with the upcoming Federal election.

What should employers do now?

Although the change won’t be immediate, employers should start thinking about how this will affect them. For example:

(a)   reviewing policies and procedures and starting internal discussions about how the leave will be implemented – particularly for non-award covered employees. Even though only award covered employees are entitled to this benefit, employer’s should think about how they could implement for any non-award covered employees;

(b)   if you want to ‘have your say’ about paid FDV leave, speak with your local employer association. This will have more impact than individual employer submissions; and

(c)    keep in mind that this decision will not affect current Enterprise Agreements, but will likely factor into future negotiations, especially for the BOOT.

Stay tuned for further developments on this key decision.

Edge Legal

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