On 13 August 2020, the High Court handed down a decision about the method of accruing and taking paid personal/carer's leave under the National Employment Standards. The High Court found that the entitlement to 10 days of personal/carer's leave is calculated based on an employee's ordinary hours of work, not days. The 10 days of personal leave can be calculated as 1/26 of an employee's ordinary hours of work in a year.

The High Court's decision overturns a decision made by the Full Federal Court in August 2019. For a copy of our legal alert on the Mondelez case,  see here.

As a result of this decision, Fair Work have updated the Fair Work Information Statement. Under the National Employment Standards, all employers must provide every new employee with a copy of the Fair Work Information Statement before, or as soon as possible after, they commence employment.

A copy of the updated form, which is effective from 13 August 2020, can be found  here. If you have any template agreements that incorporate the FWIS, these will need to be updated also.

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