Aussie workers could soon be given the right to double their annual leave at half pay under a new proposal backed by unions and peak business bodies.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) have pitched the scheme that would introduce the right for greater leave flexibility into industry awards.
While the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and Australian Industry Group support the plan in theory, finer details need to be ironed out before being tabled.
The ACCI said employers should also reserve the right to deny an employee’s request to double their leave as it could have ‘enormous ramifications’.
The Australian Industry Group concurred, adding the new rule should only be granted if agreed upon by both employer and employee.
A new proposal backed by unions and peak business bodies could let Aussie workers take double the amount of annual leave if they take half pay
ACTU secretary, Sally McManus, said the new rule will ‘allow workers to have more flexibility to take longer leave without any penalty to the employer’.
‘We would expect this request to be driven by the needs of the worker and given proper consideration by the employer,’ Ms McManus told the Australian Financial Review.
‘As with all leave it should be properly recorded, and it should be clear to the worker how this would impact any future leave and super contributions.’
Australian Industry Group’s chief executive, Innes Willox, said leave at half pay was a ‘modest step in the right direction’ but warned employers needed to be taken into account.
‘It is essential that it is only able to be used if an individual employer and employee agree to it,’ he said.
Mr Willox added that doubled leave could compound employers’ struggles to strike a balance between filling out a roster and granting leave.
ACCI’s workplace relations director, Jess Tinsley, said the proposal could also put more stress on employers during peak seasons or when they’re short staffed.
![Business groups are supporting the push for more flexible leave arrangements on the condition that employers reserve the right to deny doubled leave](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/16/14/83701937-13314209-Business_groups_are_supporting_the_push_for_more_flexible_leave_-a-47_1713275870951.jpg)
Business groups are supporting the push for more flexible leave arrangements on the condition that employers reserve the right to deny doubled leave
Ms McManus agreed leave with half pay should be in agreement between employer and employee, but should only be denied under ‘reasonable business grounds’.
‘Of course, we would say that’s fair,’ she said, according to Nine. ‘But not just because you couldn’t be bothered.’
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has already touched on the proposal during an April 3 hearing into the upcoming Modern Awards Review.
FWC deputy president, Bernadette O’Neill, said she ‘identified there may be some consensus around … annual leave to be taken at half pay’.
However, the issue wasn’t discussed as it was set back until it can receive its own hearing at a later date.
Stakeholders on the leave with half pay issue and a myriad of others being overseen in the commission’s review have until April 26 to file their views.
The FWC will table its final report sometime around June 28.
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