.png)
Increase Personal/Carer's Leave to 20 Days
- Lisa Robey
- 3 hours ago
- 6 min read
Author: Lisa Robey | Publish date: 18/06/2024
Problem Identification:
In Australia, many individuals run out of personal/carer's leave early each year due to caring responsibilities.
Section 96 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) states that for each year of employment, except for casual work, ‘an employee is entitled to 10 days of paid personal/carer’s leave.’
Carers NSW has reported that many carers exhaust their sick and carers leave, often having to ‘access their annual leave to enable access to paid leave when providing care.’ They have further stated that this ‘reduces their access to annual leave to participate in rest or recreational activities as intended’. Over time, this is known to cause some individuals to reduce their hours, take leave without pay, resign, or retire early to meet ongoing caring demands. This is known to disproportionately impact women.
Context:
In this brief, a carer refers to an individual who provides unpaid, non-contractual and ongoing care to a relative or friend who is frail, has a disability, or is experiencing an illness. Individuals with caring responsibilities are known to be more likely to experience challenges with poor health, financial stress, and difficulty retaining employment, compared to those with no caring responsibilities. In 2023, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) estimated that 2.65 million unpaid carers provided an equivalent of $78 billion worth of caring work.
