The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) has been amended to include 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave. All employees will be able to access up to 10 days’ paid leave in a 12-month period.

The leave was available from 1 February 2023 for employees of businesses with 15 or more employees but has now been extended (from 1 August 2023) for employees of small business employers (less than 15 employees as of 1 February 2023).

Key points to note include:

• Full-time, part-time and casual employees will be able to access 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave in a 12-month period. It won’t be pro-rated for part-time or casual employees
• The full 10-day leave entitlement will be available upfront. It won’t accumulate from year to year if it’s not used
• 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
• 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.

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

For more information about the changes, the Victorian Chamber has produced a comparison table.

DFV in the workplace

Modern employers need to understand how to manage the range of workplace issues that DFV presents. Consider how you would respond if:

• An aggressive ex-partner of one of your employees gained entry to your workplace
• One of your employees requests a flexible working arrangement so they can manage a range of DFV associated activities (e.g., attending counselling, court hearings, custody issues etc.)
• An underperforming employee raises DFV as a mitigating factor in the context of a disciplinary process.

Here are three things your business can do to improve the way you respond to DFV in your workplace:

1. Train your managers

As with any complex workplace issue, nothing beats talking through the issues with a skilled facilitator and like-minded managers who share similar challenges.

Training your managers will ensure that they know how to spot the early warning signs of DFV and intervene appropriately, and that they understand the complex legal issues that come into play when DFV interacts with safety, IR, workers compensation and privacy laws.

2. Treat DFV as a workplace safety issue

Your most important obligation as an employer to your staff is to provide a safe workplace for your employees, contractors, and members of the public. Although specific instances may be unforeseeable, DFV is sadly a widespread problem in our society and every employer needs to anticipate that they will be impacted by it at some point in time.

Treat DFV as a traditional workplace hazard and manage it in the same way as any other by using risk-management principles.

3. Develop a DFV strategy

As a business, you have an important role to play in reducing the stigma associated with DFV. Your workplace has the opportunity to build and maintain a workplace culture where DFV is not normalised and barriers to disclosure are removed.

For further information and assistance on any aspect of your employment obligations or to learn more about training packages, please call the Victorian Chamber Workplace Relations Advice Line on (03) 8662 5222.