By Kiren Narayanan - 26 Jul 2018
Under a new bill introduced into Parliament, victims of domestic
violence will be entitled to up to 10 days' paid leave. We foresee
some issues regarding proof for employers when this bill comes into
effect next year.
The Domestic Violence - Victims
Protection Bill was introduced to provide support to victims of
domestic violence and has just passed its third reading. One of the
biggest changes this bill introduces is domestic violence leave.
Domestic violence leave is available for up to 10 days for each 12
months of employment but cannot be carried forward.
An employee becomes entitled to domestic violence leave
after:
- Six months' continuous employment; or
- Having worked an average of 10 hours a week and for no less
than one hour per week or 40 hours per month.
However, the employer and the employee may agree that this leave
may be taken in advance.
The employer may require proof of domestic violence before
approving such leave. A failure to provide such proof without
reasonable excuse will mean that the employer is not required to
pay the employee for that domestic violence leave until such proof
is provided.
The bill doesn't say how an employee can prove that they have
suffered from domestic violence. We expect this will be
problematic, considering that domestic violence includes not only
physical violence, but also psychological and sexual abuse.
This will come into effect on 1 April 2019.
Contact our employment law team if you have
any queries.