Labour’s proposed changes to holidays, sick and bereavement leave
The Government has accepted the Holidays Act Taskforce’s recommendations to make the Holidays Act clearer and provide greater certainty for employers and employees.
The Taskforce made 22 recommendations which were jointly agreed to by the union and business representatives.
The changes will introduce more transparency and clarity:
There will be new clear and transparent rules and definitions for determining, calculating, and paying leave entitlements so that employers can have greater confidence that they are meeting their obligations under the Act and their employees are receiving their correct entitlements.
The greater clarity around calculating and paying leave will support employees to better understand what their entitlements are.
Employers and employees will benefit from greater transparency, with payslips required for each pay period, detailing used and remaining leave entitlements and how these are calculated.
The changes will increase access to some leave entitlements:
From their first day of employment, eligible employees will be entitled to bereavement leave and family violence leave and will begin accruing sick leave.
Bereavement leave will be expanded so that employees can access three days’ leave for more family members, including cultural family groups and more modern family structures.
The parental leave override will be removed, meaning that employees returning from parental leave will be paid at their full rate for all their annual holidays.
The Government expects to have introduced legislation by early 2022, which will go through the full parliamentary process.
Read the Minister's announcement accepting the Taskforce’s recommendations(external link)
Read the full Holidays Act Taskforce final report [PDF, 1.4 MB]
