Hard to Get Away: Is the paid holiday under threat in Australia?

by Troy Henderson

The focus of this year’s Go Home on Time Day is the threat to the “Great Aussie Holiday.”  Thanks to the rise of precarious work in all its forms, a growing share of Australian workers (about one-third, according to our research) have no access to something we once took for granted: a paid annual holiday.  Moreover, about half of those who ARE entitled to paid annual leave, don’t use all of their weeks – in many cases because of work-related pressures.  And recent decisions by the Fair Work Commission allowing for the “cash out” of annual leave, mean that this great cultural institution – the Aussie holiday – is very much in jeopardy.

Check out our  special in-depth report, prepared by Troy Henderson of the University of Sydney, documenting these multiple threats to the Aussie holiday, and cataloguing the many economic, social, and health consequences that occur when we don’t get a break from work.

Full report

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