The issue around personal leave has been in the employment news of late. For the time being – and subject to appeal – the Full Federal Court of Australia has handed down a decision that has determined that full time and part-time employees are entitled to 10 working days of paid personal/carer's leave for each year of employment – that is, the leave must be calculated in working days , not hours. Employers should use the Ombudsman's Advice as a starting point to review how their business currently accrues and deducts personal/carer's leave – with many employers potentially needing to change their approach to personal/carer's leave. If you have an enterprise agreement that purports to be more beneficial than the NES, you may need to review whether those entitlements are now actually more beneficial.
The FWO has recently updated their Fair Work Information Statement – which employers are required to give every new employment upon commencement - to reflect this change.
