AN120196 – Engine Drivers General (State) Award
27.1 Employees shall be entitled to and shall be allowed sick leave to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as prescribed by award, determination or agreement - Commonwealth or State - for the general body of employees in the industry in which they are employed: Provided that an employee shall be entitled in any case to sick leave not less than is after provided.
27.2 In any case where 27.1 does not apply an employee other than a casual employee who is absent from their work on account of personal illness or account of injury by accident, other than covered by workers compensation, shall be entitled to a leave of absence, without deduction of pay, subject to the following conditions:
(a) the employee shall, as soon as reasonably practicable and during the ordinary hours of the first day or shift of such absence, inform the employer of their inability to attend for duty and, as far as practicable, state the nature of the injury or illness and the estimated duration of the absence. If it is not reasonably practicable to inform the employer during the ordinary hours of the first day or shift of such absence the employee shall inform the employer within 24 hours of such absence.
(b) He shall prove to the satisfaction of their employer (or, in the event of dispute, of the Industrial Commission of New South Wales) that the employee was unable on account of such illness or injury to attend for duty on the day or days for which sick leave is claimed.
(c) First Year of Employment
(i) An employee the employee shall not be entitled during their first year of any period of service with an employer to leave in excess of five days of ordinary working time. In cases where the employee normally works more than 8 ordinary hours in any day, the employee shall not be entitled to leave in excess of 40 hours of ordinary working time:
(ii) Provided that during the first five months of the first year of a period of service with an employer the employee shall be entitled to sick leave which shall accrue on a pro rata basis of one day of ordinary working time for each month of service completed with that employer to a maximum of 40 ordinary hours.
(iii) On application by the employee during the sixth month of employment and subject to the availability of an unclaimed balance of sick leave the employee shall be paid for any sick leave taken during the first five months and in respect of which payment was not made.
(d) Second or Subsequent Years of Employment
An employee shall not be entitled during the second or subsequent year of any period of service with an employer to leave in excess of 8 days of ordinary working time or in excess of 64 hours of ordinary working time in the case of an employee who normally works more than 8 ordinary hours on any day.
(e) Part Day Absences
In the case of employees whose hours of work are fixed in accordance with 20.2 (c) or (d), sick pay entitlements for part day absences shall be calculated on a proportionate basis as follows:
duration of sick leave absence
ordinary hours normally worked that day
times
appropriate weekly rate
5
In the case of employees whose hours of work are fixed in accordance with 20.2 (a) or (b), sick pay entitlements for part day absences shall be calculated on a proportionate basis as follows:
duration of sick leave absence
times
appropriate weekly rate
38
(f) Sickness on Day Off
Where an employee is sick or injured on the weekday the employee is to take off in accordance with paragraphs 20.2 (c) or (d), the employee shall not be entitled to sick pay nor will their sick pay entitlement be reduced as a result of their sickness or injury that day.
(g) Alternative Methods of Payment
Where the employer and the majority of employees concerned agree, an alternative method of calculating sick leave entitlements to that provided for in this clause may be introduced.
27.3 Single Day Absence
(a) In the case of an employee who claims to be allowed paid sick leave in accordance with this clause for an absence of one day only, such employee, if in the year the employee has already been allowed paid sick leave on more than one occasion for one day only, shall not be entitled to payment for the day claimed unless the employee produces to the employer a certificate of a duly qualified medical practitioner that in their, the medical practitioner's, opinion the employee was unable to attend for duty on account of personal illness or on account of injury by accident.
(b) An employer may agree to accept from the employee a Statutory Declaration, stating that the employee was unable to attend for duty on account of personal illness or on account of injury by accident in lieu of a certificate of a duly qualified medical practitioner as prescribed by this subclause.
(c) Nothing in this subclause shall limit the employer's right under paragraph 27.2(c).
27.4 Accumulation of Sick Leave
(a) Sick leave shall accumulate from year to year so that any balance of the period specified in paragraphs 27.2 (d) or (e) of this clause which has in any year not been allowed to an employee by an employer as paid sick leave may be claimed by the employee and subject to the conditions before prescribed shall be allowed by the employer in a subsequent year without diminution of the sick leave prescribed in respect of that year.
(b) Sick leave which accumulates pursuant to this subclause shall not exceed 640 hours and shall be available to an employee for a period of twelve years but for no longer from the end of the year in which it accrues.
27.5 If an employee is terminated by their employer and is re-engaged by the same employer within a period of six months, then the employee's unclaimed balance of sick leave shall continue from the date of re-engagement. In such a case the employee's next year of service will commence after a total of twelve months has been served with that employer, excluding the period of interruption in service, from the date of commencement of the previous period of employment or the anniversary of the commencement of the previous period of employment, as the case may be.
