The Holidays (Increasing Sick Leave) Amendment Bill received Royal Assent on 24 May 2021, with the changes amending the Holidays Act 2003 coming into effect on 24 July 2021.
What is changing?
- Minimum sick leave entitlements for employees will increase from five days to 10 days per 12 month period.
- Employees will get their extra five days when they reach their next entitlement date – either after reaching six months’ continuous employment, or on their sick leave entitlement anniversary (12 months after they were last entitled to sick leave).
The unused sick leave that can be carried over each 12 month period reduces from 15 days to 10 days meaning the maximum amount of unused sick leave that an employee is entitled to remains at 20 days.
Employers should make sure your employment agreements, policies and systems are ready for the upcoming change.
View the Bill here.
For further information or assistance with navigating your employment law needs, please contact our Employment Team (Troy Wano and Jaye Atkin) on 06 768 3710.
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