New laws for domestic violence leave start 1 February

However, it won’t be pro-rated for part-time or casual employees and will be available upfront and won’t accumulate from year to year if it’s not used.

The leave will be available from 1 February 2023 for employees of non-small-business employers (employers with 15 or more employees on 1 February 2023) and from 1 August 2023 for employees of small-business employers (employers with less than 15 employees on 1 February 2023).

Employers are being reminded that from 1 February 2023, there are rules about information that must not be included on an employee’s pay slip relating to paid family and domestic violence leave.

This is to reduce the risk to an employee’s safety when accessing paid family and domestic violence leave.

Employers need to keep a record of leave balances and any leave taken by employees. However, pay slips must not mention family and domestic violence leave including any leave taken and leave balances.

Employees will continue to be entitled to five days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave until they can access the new paid entitlement.

The new leave will be independently reviewed after 12 months to consider the impacts on small businesses, sole traders, and people experiencing family and domestic violence.

Employees (including part-time and casual employees) can take this paid leave if they need to do something to deal with the impact of family and domestic violence.

This could include, for example, the employee:

• Making arrangements for their safety or the safety of a close relative (including relocation)
• Attending court hearings
• Accessing police services
• Attending counselling
• Attending appointments with medical, financial, or legal professionals

Full-time and part-time employees can take paid family and domestic violence leave at their full pay rate for the hours they would have worked if they weren’t on leave.

Casual employees will be paid at their full pay rate for the hours they were rostered to work in the period they took leave.

An employee can use paid family and domestic violence leave during a period of paid personal/carer’s or annual leave. If this happens, the employee is no longer on the other form of paid leave and is taking paid family and domestic violence leave instead. The employee needs to give their employer the required notice and evidence.

If an employee takes paid family and domestic violence leave, they have to let their employer know as soon as possible. This could be after the leave has started. 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.

An employer can only use this information to satisfy themselves that the employee is entitled to family and domestic violence leave, unless:

• The employee consents.
• The employer is required to deal with the information by law.
• It’s necessary to protect the life, health, or safety of the employee or another person.

The employer can’t use the information for other purposes including taking adverse action against the employee.

All other rules about notice and evidence are the same as the currents rules for taking unpaid family and domestic violence leave.

Find out more about the current rules at notice and evidence for family and domestic violence leave.

Entitlements in agreements or workplace policies

Some workplaces may provide employees with paid family and domestic violence leave entitlements in registered agreements, employment contracts, or workplace policies.

If the entitlement to paid family and domestic violence leave in any of these instruments is less than the minimum entitlement under the NES, the NES entitlement applies.