ALP Proposes 10 Days Family Violence Leave

Bill Shorten has announced that a future Labor Government will legislate for ten (10) days of family violence leave, tweeting:

“Proud to announce that a Labor Gov will legislate for 10 days’ family violence leave. Family violence leave should be a universal workplace right. The stress of seeking legal advice, accessing services & medical treatment should not be compounded by fear of losing your job”[1]

The announcement follows Labor’s previous proposal to provide for five (5) days paid domestic and family violence leave in the National Employment Standards in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).[2]

The announcement coincides with the release of draft legislation entitled the Fair Work Amendment (Improving National Employment Standards) Bill 2017 by Greens MP Adam Bandt, which calls for the introduction of ten (10) paid days of paid family and domestic violence leave per calendar year into the National Employment Standards.

What does this mean for employers?

 At this stage, there is no legal entitlement to paid “domestic violence” or “family violence” leave in the National Employment Standards, however, with the support of the Greens and Labor, this will likely become a minimum entitlement if there is a change of government at the next federal election.

[1] Bill Shorten via Twitter on 4 December 2017 at 1.19pm, accessed 5 December 2017, available from: https://twitter.com/billshortenmp/status/937793603522326528.

[2] Australian Labor Party ‘Labor’s Plan for a Workplace Response to Domestic Violence’ at 5 December 2017, available from: http://www.alp.org.au/domesticviolenceleave.