Australia’s largest and most representative business network, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, today welcomed the passing of the Fair Work Amendment (Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Bill 2018.
“We are glad to see that the independent decision of the Fair Work Commission to grant five days unpaid leave to modern award employees, has been respected and extended to cover all employees covered by the Fair Work Act,” Australian Chamber CEO, James Pearson, said today.
“The scourge of family and domestic violence is a significant community issue, which continues to impact far too many Australians.
“Employers want to be able to assist and support employees suffering from family and domestic violence but have different capacities to do so.
“The addition of family and domestic violence leave in the national employment standards (NES) is a sensible change which delivers an appropriate minimum safety net for all Fair Work Act covered employees.
“This change ensures that family and domestic violence leave is a single universal entitlement that all employers can understand, adopt and apply consistently.
“The decision of the independent Fair Work Commission to provide five days unpaid leave to award covered employees was made after careful consideration of extensive evidence and submissions from unions, employers and other interested parties.
“Amending the NES in line with this decision is a sensible change which strikes the right balance, by extending this entitlement to millions of additional working Australians not currently covered by modern awards.”
