AN120012 – Aged Care Industry (Broken Hill) Award
(a) An employee (other than a casual) after one month's continuous service with his/her present employer and on production of evidence satisfactory to that employer shall, on the death of a near relative be granted a maximum of three days' leave on full pay in any one year as compassionate leave.
(b) In general, compassionate leave with pay should be granted only in extraordinary or emergent circumstances where an employee is forced to absent themself from duty because of urgent pressing necessity. Such leave as is granted should be limited to the time necessary to cover the immediate emergency.
(c) 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 the grant of leave without pay or, if the employee so desires, charged against his/her annual leave credit.
(d) The following basic principles could be kept in mind when dealing with applications:
(i) Deaths and Funerals of parents, partners, children, sister, brother, grandparent, grandchild, parents-in-law, brother-in-law or sister-in-law.
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.
Leave with pay 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.
(ii) Applications for Special Leave relating to illness in the family should be treated in accordance with the provisions of Family Leave within this award.
(iii) Applications for Special Leave for emergency situations, such as bushfires, floods, civil emergencies, and the like should be considered on their merits and absences permitted utilising the three days compassionate leave component, annual or additional leave, or ADOs. In determining such a request the employer will give consideration to the circumstances of the employee and the reasonable operational requirements of the business.
