In Australia, employees are entitled to different types of leave that may be relevant under particular circumstances. This article provides information for graduates on the different types of leave they may be entitled to.
Annual Leave
Annual leave is paid leave that non-casual employees can request for leisure time any time they wish. Employees should typically request annual leave months in advance to obtain their desired vacation days. According to the National Employment Standards , employees can claim four weeks of annual leave, while shift workers can claim five weeks. Annual leave begins accumulating from the moment an employee starts working.
Sick and Carer’s Leave
Sick leave is leave that employees take when they are unwell and are therefore unable to attend work. Similarly, carer’s leave is paid leave that an employee can take when they need to look after a family member who needs care because of personal illness, injury, or an unexpected emergency. An unexpected emergency is not limited to illness or injury, and is determined by the amount of notice that the employee had of the emergency, the age and independence of the family member needing care, and whether the employee can make alternative arrangements.
Typically, employers will ask to see supporting documentation, like a medical certificate, when an employee requests sick or carer’s leave.
Full-time employees are entitled to ten days of paid leave per year. Part-time employees are entitled to a pro-rata amount depending on how much they work in a year. Casual employees do not receive paid leave. They are entitled to two days of unpaid carer’s leave per year.
Sick leave is accumulative, so if an employee does not use their designated number of days in a certain year, the remainder is carried over to the next year.
Parental Leave
Parental leave is unpaid leave that employees can take after the birth or adoption of a baby. Employees may receive payment from their employer or the Australian Government Parental Leave Scheme. The scheme is administered by Services Australia .
Employees must meet the income test to be eligible for payment for up to 20 weeks.
For unpaid leave, employees can access up to 12 months of leave. A further 12 months can also be requested. There are different options for continuous and flexible parental leave that both the pregnant employee and the partner of the pregnant person can take. Parental leave for the pregnant employee must either start up to six weeks before the birth or within 24 months of the birth. It must end within 24 months of the birth. For the partner of the pregnant person, leave must start and end within 24 months of the birth. Further information on flexible parental leave arrangements is available here.
Employees adopting a child under the age of 16 years may access two days of unpaid pre-adoption leave to attend interviews or examinations related to the adoption.
Compassionate and Bereavement Leave
Per the National Employment Standards,all employees are entitled to compassionate and bereavement leave. This includes casual employees. This type of leave covers the death or life-threatening illness or injury of an immediate member of the family or household, the stillborn birth of a baby in the immediate family or household, and a miscarriage experienced by the employee or by their current spouse or de facto partner. Employees are entitled to two days of compassionate leave when they meet the criteria. Full-time and part-time employees receive paid leave, while casual employees receive unpaid leave.
Family and Domestic Violence Leave
According to the minimum National Employment Standards,all employees, including casual employees, are entitled to ten days of paid family and domestic violence leave each year if they are experiencing family and domestic violence. Family and domestic violence is defined as violent, threatening or abusive behaviour that seeks to control or coerce the employee and causes them harm or fear. The perpetrator must be either a close relative of the employee’s, a member of their household, or a current or former intimate partner. More information about who the perpetrator can be is available from the Fair Work Ombudsman.
The leave is available immediately in the full amount from the moment an employee starts working. It does not accumulate, so if the leave is not used one year that does not mean that the employee is entitled to more leave the next.
1800RESPECT is a national counselling and support service for victims of domestic, family and sexual violence. If you or someone you know is experiencing or at risk of experiencing domestic, family, or sexual violence, call the number at 1800 737 732.
Long Service Leave
While long service leave is not directly relevant to graduates, it is still useful to be aware of future leave entitlements. Long service leave is leave that an employee is entitled to after working for the same employer for a long period of time. States and territories have their own laws that determine after how long an employee is entitled to long service leave and for how long that leave lasts. Casual employees are also entitled to long service leave in some states and territories. Some states and territories also provide portable long service leave to employees in security, community service, building and construction, coal mining, and contract cleaning. This means that they are entitled to long service leave despite working on different projects for multiple employers. More information about individual state and territory laws can be found here.
Community Service Leave
For activities such as jury duty or voluntary emergency management, all employees can take community service leave. This applies to casual employees as well. Community service leave is unpaid, except for jury duty that is being completed by full-time and part-time employees. Employees are entitled to a ‘make-up’ payment for the first ten days of jury duty. The ‘make-up’ payment is calculated by subtracting the jury duty payment from the base pay rate an employee would ordinarily receive for the hours worked. Under the National Employment Standards, casual employees do not get paid leave for jury duty. However, they may have some entitlements under individual state and territory laws. More information can be found here.
There is no limit to the amount of community service leave an employee can take. Voluntary emergency management includes activity that involves dealing with an emergency or natural disaster. The employee must have been requested to participate and they must be a member of a recognised emergency management body. A recognised body is one that has a designated role in responding to emergencies and natural disasters, a fire-fighting, civil defence or rescue body, or any other body that responds to an emergency or natural disaster.
An employee requesting community service leave must provide a notice of their absence and the expected period of their absence to their employer. They may also be required to provide evidence that they are entitled to take community service leave.