Domestic Violence Leave...

From April 2019, if an employee is a person affected by domestic violence they will be able to take up to 10 days domestic violence leave each 12 months (after six months employment).  They will be entitled to this domestic violence leave regardless of how long ago the domestic violence occurred and even if the domestic violence occurred before the person became an employee.

An employer may require an employee to provide proof of the domestic violence and if they have required such proof, they are not required to pay for the domestic violence leave taken if that proof has not yet been supplied (without a reasonable excuse).

As with other types of leave, an employee wishing to take domestic violence leave must notify the employer of their intention to take that leave as early as possible before work on the day they intended to take the leave, or if that is not practicable, as early as possible after that time.

The employee will be required to be paid their normal pay, at the time they would normally be paid, when they are taking domestic violence leave.

The purpose of the leave is to enable the person affected by domestic violence to recover from that domestic violence.

An employee may take up to 10 days domestic violence leave every 12 months, but any untaken leave is not carried forward to the next 12 month period.

Alan Knowsley

Employment Lawyer Wellington