The Victorian government has launched a pilot scheme that will trial paid sick leave for casual workers.
The 'Victorian Sick Pay Guarantee' scheme will be the first of its kind in Australia and it's estimated it will cost $245.6 million over its two-year trial period.
The scheme will be funded by taxpayers to begin.
After that, it could be funded through a levy applied to business — and it's likely to be a political battleground in a year with both a state and federal election.
Hospitality, retail and cleaning are among the eligible industries
The sick pay guarantee scheme will provide five days, or 38 hours, of paid sick or carers leave for workers at the national minimum wage.
Currently, that's $20.33 per hour.
It means workers will be eligible to claim up to $772.54 a year.
It will be trialled over two years in industries identified to have large cohorts of casual workers.
The following workers are listed in the first phase of the scheme:
- Hospitality workers
- Food trades workers and food preparation assistants
- Supermarket workers
- Retail and sales assistants
- Aged and disability care workers
- Cleaners and laundry workers
- Security guards
The government said an estimated 150,000 workers across the selected industries would be eligible.
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-14/victorian-casual-sick-leave-explainer/100908152