Webinar: Federal Court ruling on Personal/Carer’s Leave

In a judgment handed down on 21 August this year, the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia dealt with the question of how to quantify the entitlement to paid personal/carer’s leave under the National Employment Standards within the Fair Work Act. The Act provides an entitlement to 10 days of paid personal/carer’s leave for each year of service and this accrues on a progressive basis through the year of service according to the employee’s ordinary hours of work.

Some of the key findings of the majority of the Full Court, are that:

• the entitlement operates to provide eligible employees (e.g. full-time, part-time) with the same number of working days of paid personal/carer’s leave for each year of service; and
• that the payment for a day of personal carer leave is based on the ordinary hours that would have been worked on that day.

The decision has triggered considerable controversy because it has been common for employers to apply the entitlement to part-time employees on a pro rata basis.

The majority judgment also concluded that the entitlement accrues in ‘days’ and not hours. Consequently, the balance of the accrued entitlement is to be expressed in employment records in terms of days, and not hours. For many employers, the practice has been to accrue the entitlement in terms of hours, and so the outcome of the decision has provoked concern from the employer community.

There are other aspects of the decision that are relevant to employers. In this important webinar, AFEI and AFEI Legal will address:

• Key findings of this important decision
• How the personal/carer’s leave entitlement operates in the light of the decision including likely impacts upon enterprise agreements
• Changes of the Fair Work Information Statement as a result of the decision
• Practicable considerations such as record keeping
• What actions might occur to address the consequences of the Act in the light of this decision.

The webinar provides an opportunity for you to have your questions addressed and for you to provide feedback on the outcome and consequences within your business. You are welcome to provide any questions in advance by e-mail to webinars@afei.org.au

Members Fee:  COMPLIMENTARY
Non-Members Fee:  $89.00 incl. GST