Biz Momentum Blog

Over the next 12 months, Australian employers will face further changes to the minimum safety net of employment entitlements. The Paid Parental Leave Bill 2010 (Cth) received Royal Assent on 14 July 2010, and introduces a national Paid Parental Leave Scheme, which is scheduled to commence on 1 January 2011.

For the first half of 2011, a six-month grace period will apply. In that period employers will be able to “opt-in” to administer parental leave payments, should they choose to do so.

From 1 July 2011, all employers will be obliged to administer the Scheme for their eligible employees.

Overview of the Paid Parental Leave Scheme

The main features of the Scheme are as follows:

• Subject to qualifying criteria, full-time, part-time and casual employees will be eligible for parental leave payments.
• Paid parental leave will be a government funded “entitlement” calculated at the Federal minimum wage rate, adjusted annually. This rate is currently $569.90 per week for a full time employee.
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The commonwealth government has introduced a paid parental leave scheme for all eligible Australians. The scheme is scheduled to begin 1 January 2011 and YOU NEED to be aware of your obligations.

While nothing is set in concrete the government recently released draft legislation which is expected to be passed soon. Basically the scheme provides primary caregivers of newborn children with 18 weeks paid parental leave.

Some of the details are:

• There will be a phasing in period of 6 months where the draft indicated that the employer will not be required to pay the caregiver and where the caregiver will claim directly from the Family Assistance Office. You will be required to pay eligible primary caregivers from 1 July 2011.

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An employer and an award/agreement-free employee (such as an Accountant, Human Resource Professional and Lawyers to name a few employees in award free categories) can agree to the employee cashing out a particular amount of the employee’s accrued annual leave.

There are rules in what an employer must do to cash out annual leave. For further information please contact Biz-momentum www.biz-momentum.com (T) 617 3349 5662 (M) +61 409 002 365. ‘Servicing Australia in all states and territories’.