Paid family and domestic violence leave pay slip requirements now live

New laws prohibiting employers from including information on pay slips about paid family and domestic violence leave (PFDVL) now apply, effective from 4 February 2023.

The Fair Work Regulations 2009 provide that the following must NOT be included in pay slips: 

1. a statement that an amount paid to an employee is a payment in respect of the employee’s entitlement to PFDVL;

2. a statement that a period of leave taken by the employee has been taken as a period of PFDVL; or

3. the balance of an employee’s entitlement to PFDVL. 

Any amount that is paid to an employee for taking a period of PFDVL must be reported on the pay slip as:

1. ordinary hours of work; or

2. another kind of payment in relation to performance of the employee’s work such as an allowance, bonus or payment of overtime.

Acknowledging that there may be a reason why the employee would prefer that the pay slip records the PFDVL as another form of leave the legislation allows this.

To give employers time to adjust payroll systems PFDVL can be recorded as another type of leave such as ‘other leave’ but only until 4 June 2023.

When adjusting pay slip recording procedures to comply with these rules, employers should keep in mind that it should not be apparent from reading the pay slip that the employee has taken the leave. 

If the employee is not usually entitled to an allowance, then recording the leave as an allowance could stand out to a perpetrator of violence who may see the payslip as unusual. If the employee is usually paid ordinary hours plus an allowance for the day leave is taken then it would be appropriate to record the leave day the same way it would have been recorded had the leave not been taken, that is, the ordinary hours and the allowance.

Employers should make sure that the appropriate people are trained and understand these new rules to ensure compliance.

Edge Legal

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