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ARTICLE · 07 OCTOBER 2020

Flexibility measures extended in line with JobKeeper changes

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FWC extends entitlements of employees to 2 weeks of unpaid Pandemic Leave &, when agreed, twice as much annual leave at half pay.

AustraliaEmployment and HR
Charles Power
Charles Power
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The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has extended the life of the provisions inserted in 74 modern awards entitling employees to two weeks of unpaid ‘pandemic leave' and enabling employees and employers to agree to the employee taking twice as much annual leave at half pay.

These provisions will apply until 29 March 2021, being the date the JobKeeper scheme will cease to operate. They can be accessed by any award-covered employer and employee regardless of whether they are qualified to receive JobKeeper subsidies.

The FWC observed that the COVID-19 pandemic is still in progress and if employees do not have access to unpaid pandemic leave there would be a ‘regulatory gap' in the award safety net concerning employees who are required to self-isolate. Continuing access to unpaid pandemic leave will enable more people to remain in employment and will support the important public policy objective of encouraging those who should self-isolate to do so, thereby limiting the spread of COVID-19

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