In a previous brief, I mentioned that on 2 August 2019 the Full Federal Court ruled that a pair of 12-hour shift workers at a chocolate factory in Tasmania are entitled to 10 calendar days of paid personal/carer’s leave (P/C), equating to 120 hours per annum (10 days at 12 hours), rather than the lesser amount argued by their employer of 76 hours per annum (10 days at 7.6 hours).

This decision of the Full Federal Court may now be heading to the High Court for a final determination as the Federal Government and the Employer involved in the decision are seeking leave to appeal to the High Court to have the decision of the Federal Court overruled.

In announcing the application today, Federal IR Minister Christian Porter said that employers and employees previously “all understood that full-time staff who worked a 38-hour week were entitled to accrue 76 hours of personal leave each year, based on the number of ordinary hours they worked.”

This matter still has a long way to travel, however as updates are received, I’ll pass them on.