‘Why should I pay?’: Lawyer Guy Sara lashed over DV leave post

A Queensland lawyer and one-time political candidate has been criticised for a “highly offensive” post about paid family and domestic violence leave.

A Queensland lawyer has been criticised for a “highly offensive” post that questioned why employees should be entitled to 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave each year.

Guy Sara & Associates Principal Guy Sara wrote on LinkedIn: “why should I pay for the poor partner choices by employees?”, an opinion which has since garnered mixed responses.

From February 1, workers will have access to up to 10 days paid leave at the full rate of pay regardless of whether they are full time, part-time or casual employees.

But Mr Sara - who once ran as a candidate for billionaire Clive Palmer’s political party - said that small businesses cannot afford to give people “two weeks further leave”.

“I’m not condoning domestic violence, I’m pointing out an economic fact,” he said.

“I’ve got nothing but the greatest sympathy for people that are subject to domestic violence but at the end of the day how can we possibly pay for this?

“I need people on deck all the time and I need people to say to me, ‘I’m taking the following days off’.”

A screengrab of a post written by Guy Sara on LinkedIn.

Mr Sara said “small businesses just can’t carry the can”.

“The aspect of all of this is that I don’t want to know what is going on in my employee’s lives, I’m not allowed to ask or pry but I’m expected to pay for two weeks,” he said.

“I’ve got two employees and I’m thinking about taking on a third but I’m now scared…It’s only natural…won’t people be reluctant to hire people that they suspect are going to be in a DV relationship?.

“I shouldn’t have put ‘what a load of shit’ at the end of my post … but I was frustrated …people were maligning me… I’m not saying that I condone DV, I’m saying this is a real issue.”

Mr Sara said other small businesses had reached out to him about the post.

“I’ve had balanced responses saying ‘yeah I support the business point of view, but you came across as insensitive’…Perhaps I did…I didn’t mean to be, I made a mistake,” he said.

“Do you need to sit down and ask people ‘are you in a relationship?, does he bash you?’ – How do we define DV? Because DV at law is not defined as physical assault, it can be coercing, or not providing money…where does (the employer) draw the line? – If your partner hits you, yes you can have the day...But what about if your partner sends you a text and it upsets you?

“Apparently it’s still a democracy and we are allowed to have our own points of view.”

Guy Sara. Picture: Kevin Farmer / The Chronicle

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday said the “overdue” change would “save lives”.

“Part of tackling domestic violence, of course, is bringing it out into the open, talking about it,” Mr Albanese said.

But he said tackling domestic violence could not be left to just governments and it required a “whole of society response”.

Women’s Legal Service Qld (WSLQ) CEO Nadia Bromley described the post as “disappointing”.

“Domestic and Family Violence has a huge impact on the lives of people affected, and on the community as a whole,” she said.

“The recent changes to paid leave reflect community expectations on the support which should be provided to create stability in the lives of those experiencing violence.

“To suggest that victims are responsible or choose to be subjected to violence is highly offensive.

“Ending domestic and family violence is the responsibility of the whole community and employers have an important role to play.”

The changes kick in from February 1 for at least seven million employees in large and medium businesses across the country.

Meanwhile, employees at small businesses will be able to access the scheme from August 1 to give those employers time to adjust to the changes.

Small businesses will also have access to $3.4 million over four years to support their adjustment to the scheme.