AT794740CRA - Retail and Wholesale Industry - Shop Employees - Australian Capital Territory - Award 2000 [Transitional]
[31 Personal/Carer’s Leave title changed and substituted by PR964938 ppc 11Nov05]
31.1 The provisions of this clause apply to employees other than casual employees. The entitlements of casual employees are set out in clause 13.4.4
31.2 Immediate family or household
31.2.1 The entitlement to personal leave for the purpose of caring in accordance with this clause is subject to the person in respect of whom the leave is taken being either:
31.2.1(a) a member of the employee’s immediate family; or
31.2.1(b) a member of the employee’s household.
31.2.2 The term immediate family includes:
31.2.2(a) spouse (including a former spouse, a de facto spouse and a former de facto spouse) of the employee. A de facto spouse, in relation to a person, means a person of the opposite sex to the first mentioned person who lives with the first mentioned person as the husband or wife of that person on a bona fide domestic basis although not legally married to that person; and
31.2.2(b) child or adult child (including an adopted child, a step child or an ex nuptial child), parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling of the employee or spouse of the employee.
31.3 Amount of paid personal leave
31.3.1 An employee after one month’s continuous employment is entitled to the following amount of paid personal leave:
31.3.1(a) during the first year of employment; entitlements will accrue at the rate of 7.6 hours for each completed month of service for the first ten months; and
31.3.1(b) entitlements will accrue at the rate of 7.6 hours in the second and subsequent years of service.
31.3.2 If an employee takes personal leave for which an entitlement has not been earned, the payment for the personal leave will be made when the employee is entitled to personal leave.
31.3.3 Leave taken by an employee under 31.3.1 is deducted from the amount of personal leave under 31.3.1
31.4 Accumulation of personal leave
31.4.1 Unused personal leave is accruable from year to year but cannot exceed 380 hours.
31.4.2 The employees of David Jones (Canberra) Pty Limited, Coles Myer Ltd, Woolworths Limited, Angus and Coote and Fosseys will be allowed to accumulate personal leave to a maximum of 760 hours.
31.5 Personal leave for personal illness or injury
31.5.1 Where an employee has been employed continuously for a period of one month and is then absent from work on account of personal illness or injury, the employer must not deduct from the pay of the employee, on account of their absence, the amount which the employee would have been entitled to receive if working, but must pay the employee the amount or amounts as the employee would have been entitled to receive if working.
31.5.2 An employee is entitled to use accumulated personal leave for personal illness or injury.
31.6 Effect of workers compensation
31.6.1 Employees may not be entitled to be paid for personal leave for personal illness or injury during any period for which workers’ compensation is paid or payable.
31.6.2 Absences due to accidents for which workers’ compensation is paid or payable will be counted as continuous employment for the purpose of this clause. Absences due to sick leave under this clause, absences due to sick leave without pay for three months in any one year, approved leave without pay, annual leave and public holidays are to be counted as continuous employment for the purpose of this clause.
31.7 Personal illness or injury during annual leave
31.7.1 Illness during annual leave, when the illness exceeds one week and is covered by a medical certificate, will be regarded as sick leave and an equivalent number of days are to be added to the annual leave.
31.8 Personal leave to care for an immediate family or household member
31.8.1 An employee with responsibilities in relation to either members of their immediate family or household who need their care and support is entitled to use up to ten days per year of their personal leave entitlement to provide care and support for such persons when they are ill. Leave may be taken for part of a single day.
31.8.2 By agreement between an employer and an individual employee, the employee may access an additional amount of their accrued personal leave for the purposes set out in 31.6.3 beyond the limit set out in 31.6.3. In such circumstances, the employer and the employee shall agree upon the additional amount that may be accessed.
31.8.3 In normal circumstances an employee must not take carer’s leave under this clause where another person has taken leave to care for the same person.
31.9 Employee must give notice
31.9.1 The employee must, where practicable, give the employer notice prior to the absence of the intention to take leave, the name of the person requiring care and their relationship to the employee (where applicable), the reasons for taking such leave and the estimated length of absence. If it is not practicable for the employee to give prior notice of absence, the employee must notify the employer by telephone of such absence at the first opportunity on the day of absence.
31.10 Evidence supporting claim
31.10.1 An employee will furnish to the employer appropriate evidence as the employer reasonably may desire that he or she was unable by reason of illness or injury to attend for duty on the day or days for which personal leave for personal illness or injury is claimed.
31.10.2 Should an employee be absent from work on account of personal illness or injury, it may be necessary for the employee, who is employed in Canberra to notify the employer or agent authorised in that behalf that the absence is due to illness or injury at the ordinary commencing time of work wherever practicable, but in any case not later than 12 noon on that working day. Should an employer require a written statement setting out the nature of the illness, the statement will be furnished within 48 hours.
31.10.3 When taking leave to care for members of their immediate family or household who require care due to illness the employee must, if required by the employer, establish by production of a medical certificate or statutory declaration, the illness of the person concerned and that the illness is such as to require care by another.
31.10.4 When taking leave to care for members of their immediate family or household who require care due to an unexpected emergency, the employee must, if required by the employer, establish by production of documentation acceptable to the employer or a statutory declaration, the nature of the emergency and that such emergency resulted in the person concerned requiring care by the employee.
31.11 Unpaid personal leave
Where an employee has exhausted all paid personal leave entitlements, they are entitled to take unpaid personal leave to care for members of their immediate family or household who are sick and require care and support or who require care due to an
unexpected emergency. The employer and the employee shall agree on the period. In the absence of agreement, the employee is entitled to take up to two days (up to a maximum of 16 hours) per occasion, provided the requirements of 31.9 and 31.10 are met.
