QBE’s Enterprise Agreement nominally expired on 30 June 2019, but QBE notified FSU that they have no intention of negotiating a new Enterprise Agreement (EA) at this stage. This means that your current EA will continue to apply but the new leave provisions QBE has introduced this year are not included in your enterprise agreement.
What are the improvements?
Paid Domestic Violence leave – Instead of using your flexible leave to take time off if you’ve been impacted by family and domestic violence, QBE will now provide a “bucket” of 10 days leave for this purpose. This paid leave can be accessed by all QBE staff (except casuals who aren’t eligible for paid leave) and does not accrue from year to year.
Paid Parental Leave – QBE have removed the distinction between “primary” and “secondary” carers which means that ALL QBE staff (after 12 months service, and not including casuals who aren’t eligible for paid leave) are now entitled to 60 days of paid parental leave. This leave can be taken flexibly (birth mothers are required to take a minimum of 6 weeks off after the birth) in consultation with your manager.
FSU recognises that the changes to parental leave are industry leading and the changes to paid domestic violence leave bring QBE’s entitlements up to the industry standard, however they are not legally enforceable as they sit outside your EA.
If you’re unhappy about this decision, please contact me, Julie Engel (Julie.Engel@qbe.com)
FSU National Conference 2019
I attended the FSU National Conference earlier this month as the FSU’s Insurance President. The theme of the conference was “100 years of putting finance workers first”.
I joined conference delegates from every state and across the breadth of our industry – delegates came from the big 4 banks, major insurers, mutual banks and mid sized banks – all these delegates are just like me, we work in the industry and volunteer our time to represent workers and ensure our voices are heard.
We spent time considering the changes and challenges ahead for our industry and our union and we heard from a great array of speakers including Sally McManus, the ACTU Secretary, Stephen Jones, Shadow assistant Treasurer and Shadow minister for Financial Services, Ged Kearney, Shadow Minister for Skill and Dr Marian Baird, Professor of Gender and Employment relations. Some of the interesting sessions included first hand insights from the Royal Commission (“The Lawyer, the Journo, The Witness”) as well as the challenges ahead for the Finance Industry post the Royal Commission and considering technological changes and an aging workforce.
During Conference the new FSU website was launched: www.fsunion.org.au/ please take the time to have a look.
If this email has been sent to you in error please accept my apologies.
If you have any questions or concerns please get in touch.
Kind regards,
Julie
Contact Details
Finance Sector Union
Ph: 1300 366 378
fsuinfo@fsunion.org.au
