Casuals urged to reap sick pay benefits

MINISTER for Workplace Safety, Ingrid Stitt, visited Federation University’s Mount Helen campus to raise awareness for the State Government’s Sick Pay Guarantee initiative on Tuesday.

The nearly $250 million trial endeavour will provide up to five days of sick leave for casual and contract workers.

Ms Stitt said the program will be a great benefit to Ballarat’s casual workforce over the coming colder months.

“About one in five workers in Ballarat are casual so it’s about 19 per cent of the workforce here. Now, that’s a fairly high proportion,” she said.

“We launched the scheme in March this year but really my message for people in Ballarat today is it’s winter, you’re going to get sick. If you need this safety net support, don’t wait until you’re sick. Register today.”

The two-year pilot program is expected to benefit more than 150,000 workers, with registrants eligible to receive up to 38 hours of paid sick leave.

Louis Greene, a casual chef at Fed Uni’s Murnong cafe and father of two is set to register for the scheme, and said he hopes it will provide the first steps towards a more flexible work-life balance.

“It’s beneficial in so many ways, just alone having young kids and them getting sick all the time and then you can’t take them to day care,” he said.

“If one of them is sick, we’ve got to stay home and look after the kids so that’s definitely going to take the sting out of that.”

Those eligible can register for the program at vic.gov.au/sickpayguarantee or via the Service Victoria app.