Part-time employees could be soon required to negotiate with their employer if they want the same sick leave as full-timers.
Major changes are proposed for part-time workers' sick leave as the Government looks at changing to a pro-rata system.
Sick leave entitlements went from five to 10 days in 2021. Currently, part-time workers are eligible for the same number of leave as full-time workers but under the proposed changes this would change.
Appearing on AM, Workplace Relations Minister Brooke Van Velden questioned whether it is proportional that somebody who works a 40-hour week gets 10 days of sick leave, while someone who works fewer hours but works two part-time jobs could get 20 days of sick leave.
She said the proposed changes to pro-rata sick leave would be the minimum entitlements, but that doesn't mean employers couldn't come to a different arrangement.
The Minister wants to make the law simpler and easier for businesses but added it benefits workers as well.
"People would be better off getting their full entitlements because business owners wouldn't be falling foul of the law," van Velden said.
She said many people have been misinterpreting the law because of a whole range of different working arrangements and payment providers.
"It should be easy to comply with a law. This is basic employment standards, making sure that people have rights and entitlements when they turn up to work, but a lot of companies I talk to know that they are not getting it right but they're not quite sure how to get it right," she said.
"Our laws shouldn't be that complex."
An exposure draft of the Bill will be released for targeted consultation in September 2024.
Newshub.
