Chamber of commerce director cites ‘enormous ramifications’ to workers doubling their leave
The founder of an Australian company has raised concerns about a proposed plan to increase workers' annual leave by up to twice as much.
The Fair Work Commission is looking into a proposal that could see Aussies get half-pay if they wanted to extend their leave entitlements — an approach urged by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU).
But the proposal raises obvious concerns, former CEO Marco Bogaers told Yahoo Finance.
"For staff to go on extended periods of leave requires that remaining resources pick up the slack, placing undue pressure on them in the workplace, or the business must increase its resourcing cost base."
Currently, full- and part-time workers are allowed four weeks of paid mandatory annual leave on top of public holidays and other types of leave like sick, compassionate and carers.
The ACTU has suggested this could give employees “more time and flexibility to manage their caring responsibilities and balance work and care,” according to the report.
ACTU boss Sally McManus said the change would "allow workers to have more flexibility to take longer leave without any penalty to the employer,” said 9News.
But Jessica Tinsley, director of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, warned of "enormous ramifications" for employers if employees have a unilateral right to double their leave whenever they want, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported.
"Your boss needs to agree to it," Tinsley said as quoted by 9News. "With that condition, employers are really backing this proposal."
While McManus said it was "fair" for employers to decide on the leave request, she noted that a refusal to leave requests should be based on "reasonable business grounds."
"Not just because you couldn't be bothered," McManus said as quoted by 9News.
The Fair Work Commission is set to review the proposal over the coming months, alongside other flexible work arrangements, such as the possibility of remote work options for employees.
