AN120011 – Aged Care General Services (State) Award
(i) In general, compassionate leave with pay should be granted only in extraordinary or emergent circumstances where an employee is forced to be absent from duty because of urgent pressing necessity. Such leave should be limited to the time necessary to cover the immediate emergency.
(ii) Any absence occasioned by personal exigencies which might fairly be regarded as an obligation on the employee, rather than the employer to make good should be covered by granting leave without pay or, if the employee so desires, by taking annual leave.
(iii) The following basic principles should be kept in mind when dealing with applications:
(a) Bereavement Leave Refer to subclause (7) of clause 18, State Personal/Carers Leave
Case August, 1996.
(b) In general, compassionate leave with pay should be limited to one day, provided that where the employee is involved in funeral arrangements, travelling, etc., leave may be allowed for up to three days.
(c) Compassionate leave would not ordinarily be granted for the death or attendance at the funeral of a relative other than those mentioned, unless special circumstances exist, e.g. the employee resided with the deceased.
(iv) In the event of illness in the family refer to the said clause 18.
(v) The above principles are not intended to codify completely the purposes for which compassionate leave may be allowed. The element of unforeseen emergency could be present in other situations, e.g. floods and bushfires which clearly prevent attendance for duty.
(vi) In view of the purpose for which compassionate leave is intended, it is not possible to prescribe a precise limitation on the amount of leave to be granted in a given period. It is suggested, however, that only under the most exceptional circumstances should leave exceeding a total of three days be granted to an employee in any year.
