Holidays Act Review Recommendations Accepted
29 April 2021
In 2018 The Government established the Holidays Act Taskforce to suggest improvements to the Holidays Act, following a joint request from unions and employers.
The Taskforce included employer, worker and government representatives and was chaired by Gordon Anderson, a law professor at Victoria University with extensive experience in employment law.
The Taskforce was asked to make recommendations on options for a clear and transparent set of rules for providing entitlements to, and payment for, holidays and leave.
The final report from the taskforce was presented in 2019 and included 22 recommendations. Earlier this year the Government announced that it has accepted all 22 recommendations.
The recommendations include provisions such as
- Entitling eligible employees to bereavement leave and family violence leave from their first day of employment.
- Giving eligible employees one day’s sick leave from their first day of employment, with an additional day given per month until the minimum entitlement is reached.
- Extending bereavement leave to include more family members, including cultural family groups and more modern family structures.
- Removing the current parental leave ‘override’ to address discrimination against parents who take time off to care for their young children. Removing this provision will mean that employees returning to work following parental leave will be paid at their full rate for annual holidays.
- Requiring payslips, so employees know what their used and remaining leave entitlements are, and how these were calculated.
Read the full Holidays Act Taskforce final Report
Download a fact sheet on the recommendations
The recommendations will need to go through a select committee process, and the Government has indicated that the legislation is expected to be introduced in early 2022.
