No additional obligations on employers
33 No additional obligations on employers
To avoid doubt, this Act does not oblige an employer of a member who is, or has been, absent on defence service to do any of the following in respect of the period of the absence:
to pay the member’s remuneration in respect of the employment; or
to grant the member’s entitlements in respect of the employment (except as provided under this Part); or
to meet the employer’s obligations under a workers’ compensation law to pay premiums, contributions or similar payments in relation to the member; or
to meet the employer’s obligations under the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 in relation to the member.
Paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) do not apply to the extent that the member would have been entitled to the benefit of the things mentioned in those paragraphs anyway if the member’s absence had been for a purpose other than the purpose of rendering defence service.
An employer would still have to pay the wages of a member who rendered defence service while on paid annual leave, since the member’s absence on paid annual leave would not relieve the employer from having to pay wages. But once the member ran out of paid annual leave, the employer would not have to pay the member any longer until the member returned from rendering defence service.
In this section:
workers’ compensation law means a law that provides for compensation or other benefits for work‑related trauma suffered by employees without requiring proof of any breach by employers or by their associates.
This Act’s bill:Explanatory memorandumSecond reading speech
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