Katy Gallagher has issued a reminder to federal public service managers of the critical role they play in supporting staff affected by family and domestic violence, as paid leave for victim-survivors is uncapped across the service.
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The Public Service Minister spoke out about support for Australian Public Service staff, as a spate of violence against women at the hands of men has pushed political leaders to declare women's safety a national crisis.
Dozens of federal public service agencies introduced new conditions for victim-survivors in March, establishing a service-wide right to uncapped paid leave.
Prior to this, only about 20 per cent of APS agencies explicitly mentioned family and domestic violence in their enterprise agreements.
While this didn't rule out staff from accessing domestic violence leave through so-called "miscellaneous leave" provisions, a new clause in enterprise agreements sets out clear expectations for APS managers.
It requires all 102 APS agencies to explicitly state that they will provide holistic support to employees affected by domestic and family violence, depending on their individual circumstances.
Rights include:
- An employee experiencing family and domestic violence can access at least 10 days of paid leave (per the National Employment Standards), and then uncapped paid leave. The leave can also be used by those caring for, or supporting a family or household member who is ill or injured as a result of domestic or family violence.
- Employees are allowed to take the leave and then seek approval at a later date, given the emergency context.
- The agency may request evidence in order to approve leave, but in most cases this will not be required.
- The agency will take all reasonable measures to keep information relating to domestic and family violence confidential, including adopting a "needs to know" approach to communication of an employee's experience.
- The agency will not store or include any information on the employee's payslip in relation to the employee's experience of family and domestic violence.
- Affected employees can access flexible working arrangements and changes to their span or pattern of hours, and/or shift patterns, and/or location of work, where reasonably practicable.
- Affected employees can have extended access to their agency's Employee Assistance Program.
- The agency will take into account an employee's experience of family and domestic violence if their attendance or performance at work is affected.
Senator Gallagher, who is also the Minister for Women, urged APS agencies to make their employees aware of the support they offer.
"Employees experiencing family and domestic violence should be supported by their employers and that's why the Albanese government has made paid domestic violence consistent across the APS workforce," she said.
"As a model employer, the APS should lead by example and we want to ensure that lack of leave is not a barrier to escaping violence.
The ACT senator said that while experiences of family and domestic violence were varied employers could play a consistent and critical role in offering support.
"That is why we have designed a family and domestic violence leave scheme that delivers maximum flexibility to APS agencies and managers so they can best support their employees when they need it."
"These important provisions are uniform across the public service, and I strongly encourage agencies to ensure their employees are aware of the supports that are available to them if they are experiencing family and domestic violence."
The main public sector union said the service-wide entitlements ensured staff "have the time and resources they need to access vital support services and take necessary steps to protect themselves and their loved ones".
"There is no 'one-size-fits-all' approach that can be taken, and managers should work to support people's individual needs on a case-by-case basis," Community and Public Sector Union national secretary Melissa Donnelly said.
"Importantly, victim-survivors accessing this leave are entitled to privacy, and a range of measures have been negotiated to ensure this is the case."
- Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800; 1800-RESPECT 1800 737 732.
Miriam Webber
I report on the public service and politics for the Canberra Times. Reach me at miriam.webber@canberratimes.com.au
I report on the public service and politics for the Canberra Times. Reach me at miriam.webber@canberratimes.com.au
