On 13 August 2020, the High Court of Australia overturned a decision made by the Full Federal Court of Australia in August 2019, that personal/carer’s leave under the National Employment Standards is calculated in working days, not hours.

In Mondelez Australia Pty Ltd v AMWU & Ors [2020] HCA 29, the High Court clarified that:

  • Employees working longer than standard hours are not entitled to use those hours as the basis for calculating their entitlement to 10 days paid personal/carer’s leave.
  • The entitlement to 10 days of personal/carer’s leave is calculated based on an employee’s ordinary hours of work, not working days.
  • 10 days of personal/carer’s leave can be calculated as 1/26 of an employee’s ordinary hours of work in a year.

The High Court decision has restored certainty for businesses and preserves the equality between workers on different rosters.

If you think you may have miscalculated personal/carer’s leave entitlements for employees, please contact us on (08) 9221 2339 to obtain specific legal advice.

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