Family and Domestic Violence Leave: FAQs

What is Family and Domestic Violence Leave?

Employees (including casual employees) covered by an award with the new clause are entitled to 5 days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave each year. 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’s impractical to do so outside their ordinary hours of work. All industry and occupation awards have the new leave entitlements.

Who do the new leave entitlements apply to?

It applies to all employees covered by an industry or occupation award.

It DOES NOT apply to Employees who are:

• Covered by Enterprise awards
• Covered by State reference public sector awards
• Covered by enterprise and other registered agreements
• Award and agreement free.

Are there any exceptions?

Some awards don’t include the new unpaid leave entitlements. These awards are:

• Enterprise awards
• State reference public sector awards

Employees covered by these awards aren’t entitled to the new unpaid leave entitlement. However, they might be entitled to other paid or unpaid entitlements in their award that they can access in these circumstances, or their employer might have a workplace policy allowing them to take family and domestic violence leave.

Employees covered by agreements

Employees covered by enterprise and other registered agreements aren’t entitled to the new unpaid leave in awards. However, their agreement might include or incorporate the leave, or there may be other paid or unpaid entitlements in their agreement that they can access in these circumstances.

Award and agreement free employees

Award and agreement free employees aren’t entitled to the new unpaid leave entitlements.

Would you like to learn more about the new leave entitlements and how they might affect your obligations as a business owner? Get in touch the team at Bramwell and Partners today for all of your human resource consulting needs.

Updated 09/06/2020