Crown
Employees (Lord Howe Island Board Salaries and Conditions 2004) Award
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES
Application by Public
Employment Office.
(No. IRC 356 of 2006)
|
Before The Honourable Justice
Wright, President
|
3 February 2006
|
VARIATION
1. Insert at the
end of clause 22, Family and Community Service Leave, Personal/Carer’s Leave
and Flexible Use of Other Leave Entitlements, of the award published 25 February
2005 (348 I.G. 707), the following new paragraphs:
(i) An employee
may elect, with the consent of the employer to take annual leave not exceeding
ten days in single-day periods, or part thereof, in any calendar year at a time
or times agreed by the parties.
(ii) An employee
may elect with the employers agreement to take annual leave at any time within
a period of 24 months from the date at which it falls due.
2. Insert after
subclause (i) of clause 27, Parental Leave, the following new subclauses:
(ii) Right to
request
(i) An employee
entitled to parental leave may request the employer to allow the employee:
(a) to extend the
period of simultaneous unpaid parental leave use up to a maximum of eight
weeks;
(b) to extend the period
of unpaid parental leave for a further continuous period of leave not exceeding
12 months;
(c) to return from
a period of parental leave on a part-time basis until the child reaches school
age;
to assist the employee in reconciling work and parental
responsibilities.
(ii) The employer
shall consider the request having regard to the employee's circumstances and,
provided the request is genuinely based on the employee's parental
responsibilities, may only refuse the request on reasonable grounds related to
the effect on the workplace or the employer's business. Such grounds might
include cost, lack of adequate replacement staff, loss of efficiency and the
impact on customer service.
(iii) Employee's
request and the employer's decision made under (b) and (c) are to be in
writing.
(iv) Where an
employee wishes to make a request to return to work part-time, such a request
must be made as soon as possible but no less than seven weeks prior to the date
upon which the employee is due to return to work from parental leave.
(iii) Communication
during parental leave
(v) Where an
employee is on parental leave and a definite decision has been made to
introduce significant change at the workplace, the employer shall take
reasonable steps to:
(a) make information
available in relation to any significant effect the change will have on the
status or responsibility level of the position the employee held before
commencing parental leave; and
(b) provide an
opportunity for the employee to discuss any significant effect the change will
have on the status or responsibility level of the position the employee held
before commencing parental leave.
(vi) The employee
shall take reasonable steps to inform the employer about any significant matter
that will affect the employee's decision regarding the duration of parental
leave to be taken, whether the employee intends to return to work and whether
the employee intends to request to return to work on a part-time basis.
(vii) The employee shall
also notify the employer of changes of address or other contact details which
might affect the employer's capacity to comply with the notification
requirements of this clause.
3. Delete
subclause (iii), of clause 33, Casual Employment, and insert in lieu thereof
the following:
(iii) Casual staff
are not entitled to any form of leave specified in this Award except as
prescribed in subclauses (iv), (v),
(vi) and (vii) of this clause.
(iv) Bereavement
entitlements for casual employees
(a) Casual employees
are entitled to not be available to attend work, or to leave work upon the
death in Australia of a person prescribed in subclause A of clause 22 Family
and Community Service Leave, Personal/Carers Leave and Flexible Use of Other
Leave Entitlements, on production of satisfactory evidence (if required by the
employer).
(b) The employer
and the casual employee shall agree on the period for which the employee will
be entitled to not be available to attend work. In the absence of agreement,
the employee is entitled to not be available to attend work for up to 48 hours
(i.e. two days) per occasion. The casual employee is not entitled to any
payment for the period of non-attendance
(c) An employer
must not fail to re-engage a casual employee because the employee accessed the
entitlements provided for in this clause. The rights of an employer to engage
or not engage a casual employee are otherwise not affected.
(d) The casual
employee must, 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. 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 will inform the employer
within 24 hours of the absence.
(v) Personal
Carers Entitlement for casual employees
(a) Casual
employees are entitled to not be available to attend work, or to leave work if
they need to care for a person prescribed in subclause A of clause 22 Family
and Community Service Leave, Personal/Carer's Leave and Flexible Use of Other
Leave Entitlements who is sick and requires care and support, or who requires
care due to an unexpected emergency, or birth of a child.
(b) The casual
employee must, 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. 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 will inform the employer
within 24 hours of the absence.
(c) The employer
and the casual employee shall agree on the period for which the employee will
be entitled to not be available to attend work. In the absence of agreement,
the employee is entitled to not be available to attend work for up to 48 hours
(i.e. two days) per occasion. The
casual employee is not entitled to any payment for the period of non-attendance.
(d) The casual
employee shall, if required, establish by production of a medical certificate,
a statutory declaration or other documentation acceptable to the employer, the
illness of the person concerned and that the illness id such as to require care
by another person, or the nature of the emergency and that such emergency
resulted in the person concerned requiring care by the employee.
(e) An employer
must not fail to re-engage a casual employee because the employee accessed the
entitlements provided for in this clause. The rights of an employer to engage
or not to engage a casual employee are otherwise not affected.
(vi) Parental Leave
entitlement for casual employees
(a) Casual
employees are entitled to unpaid parental leave in accordance with the Industrial
Relations Act 1996. Refer to the Industrial
Relations Act 1996 (NSW). The following provisions shall also apply in
addition to those set out in the Industrial Relations Act 1996 (NSW).
(b) The Department
Head must not fail to re-engage a regular casual employee (see section 53(2) of
the Act) because:
(A) the employee or
employee's spouse is pregnant; or
(B) the employee is
or has been immediately absent on parental leave.
(c) The rights of
an employer in relation to engagement and re-engagement of casual employees are
not affected, other than in accordance with this clause.
(vii) Casual
employees shall receive long service leave in accordance with the Long
Service Leave Act 1955.
4. This
variation shall take effect from the 19 December 2005.
F.
L. WRIGHT J , President
____________________
Printed by
the authority of the Industrial Registrar.