Eraring
Energy Employees Consent Award 2004
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES
Application by Eraring
Energy.
(No. IRC 305 of 2006)
Before The Honourable
Justice Wright, President
|
3 February 2006
|
VARIATION
1. Insert in the
Arrangement of the award published 13 August 2004 (345 I.G. 940), the following
new clause number and subject matter and renumber the
existing clauses accordingly:
22. Parental
Leave
23. Public
Holidays and Picnic Day
24. Standby
Allowance
25. Travelling
Time and Fares
26. Working
Away from Headquarters
27. Grievance
and Disputes Procedures
28. Anti-Discrimination
29. Telecommuting
30. Miscellaneous
31. Appendix A
2. Delete clause
20, Family Carer's Leave, and insert in lieu thereof the following:
20. Family Carer’s
Leave
Use of sick leave
20.1 An employee,
other than a casual employee, with responsibilities in relation to a class of
person set out in 20.3 (ii) who needs the employee’s care and support, shall be
entitled to use, in accordance with this subclause, any current or accrued sick
leave entitlement, provided for at Clause 19 of the award, for absences to
provide care and support for such persons with they are ill, or who require
care due to an unexpected emergency.
Such leave may be taken for part of a single day.
Note: In the unlikely event that more than 10 days sick
leave in any year is to be used for caring purposes Eraring Energy and the
employee shall discuss appropriate arrangements which, as far as practicable,
take account of Eraring Energy’s and the employee’s requirements.
Where the parties are unable to reach agreement the
disputes procedure at Clause 27 should be followed.
Proof of illness
20.2 The employee
shall, if required,
(a) establish
either 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 person, or
(b) 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.
In normal circumstances, an employee must not take
carer’s leave under this subclause where another person had taken leave to care
for the same person.
Definitions
20.3 The entitlement
to use sick leave in accordance with subclauses 20.1 to 20.2 is subject to:
(i) The employee
being responsible for the care of the person concerned; and
(ii) The person
concerned being:
(a) A spouse of
the employee; or
(b) A de facto
spouse, who, in relation to a person, is 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; or
(c) A child or an
adult child (including an adopted child, a step child, a foster child or an ex
nuptial child), parent (including a foster parent and legal guardian),
grandparent, grandchild or sibling of the employee or spouse or de facto spouse
of the employee; or
(d) A same sex
partner who lives with the employee as the de facto partner of that employee on
a bona fide domestic basis; or
(e) A relative of
the employee who is a member of the same household, where for the purposes of
this paragraph:
1. ‘relative’
means a person related by blood, marriage or affinity;
2. ‘affinity’
means a relationship that one spouse because of marriage has to blood relatives
of the other; and
3. ‘household’
means a family group living in the same domestic dwelling.
Notice of absence
20.4 An employee
shall, wherever practicable, give Eraring Energy notice prior to the absence of
the intention to take leave, the name of the person requiring care and that
person’s relationship to the employee, 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 shall notify Eraring Energy by telephone of such absence at the first
opportunity on the day of absence.
Unpaid Leave for Family Purpose
20.5 An employee may
elect, with the consent of Eraring Energy, to take unpaid leave for he purpose
of providing care and support to a class of person set out in 20.3 (ii) above
who is ill or who requires care due to an unexpected emergency.
Annual Leave
20.6 An employee may
elect, with the consent of Eraring Energy 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.
20.7 An employee may
elect with Eraring Energy’s agreement to take annual leave any time within a
period of 24 months from the date at which it falls due.
20.8 Family Carer’s Entitlement
for casual employees
(a) Subject to the
evidentiary and notice requirements in 20.2 and 20.4 employees are entitled to
not be available to attend work, or to leave work it they need to care for a
person prescribed in 20.3(ii) who are sick and require care and support, or who
require care due to an unexpected emergency or the birth of a child.
(b) Eraring Energy
and the 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) Eraring Energy
must not fail to re-engage a casual employee because the employee accessed the
entitlements provided for in this clause.
The rights of Eraring Energy to engage or not to engage a casual
employee are otherwise not affected.
Time off in lieu of payment for overtime
20.9 An employee may
elect, with the consent of Eraring Energy to take time off in lieu of payment
for overtime at a time or times agreed with Eraring Energy, within twelve (12)
months of the said election.
20.10 Overtime taken
as time off during ordinary time hours shall be taken at the ordinary time
rate, that is an hour for each hour worked.
20.11 If, having
elected to take time as leave in accordance with subclause 20.9, the leave is
not taken for whatever reason, payment for time accrued at overtime rates shall
be made at the expiry of the twelve (12) month period, or on termination.
20.12 Where no
election is made in accordance with subclause 20.9, the employee shall be paid
overtime rates in accordance with this Award.
Make-up Time
20.13 An employee may
elect, with the consent of Eraring Energy to work ‘make-up time’, under which
the employee takes time off ordinary hours, and works those hours at a later
time, during the spread of ordinary hours provided in this Award, at the
ordinary rate of pay.
20.14 An employee on
shift work may elect, with the consent of Eraring Energy to work ‘make-up time’
(under which the employee takes time off ordinary hours and works those hours
at a later time), at the shift work rate which would have been applicable to
the hours taken off.
Rostered Days off
20.15 An employee may
elect, with the consent of Eraring Energy to take a rostered day off at any
time, in accordance with subclause 3.6 of this Award.
3. Delete
subclause 21.5, of clause 21, Bereavement Leave, and insert in lieu thereof the
following:
21.5 Bereavement
leave may be taken in conjunction with other leave available under subclauses
20.5, 20.6, 20.9, 20.10, 20.11, 20.12, 20.13, 20.14 and 20.15 in the said
clause 20, Family Carer’s Leave. In determining
such a request Eraring Energy will give consideration to the circumstances of
the employee and the reasonable operational requirements of the business.
21.6
(a) Subject to the
evidentiary and notice requirements in 21.2 and 21.3 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 20.3 Family/Carers Leave.
(b) Eraring Energy
and the 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.
(a) Eraring Energy
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.
4. Insert after
clause 21, Bereavement Leave, the following new clause and renumber the
existing clauses to reflect the new Arrangement:
22. Parental Leave
22.1 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).
22.2 Eraring Energy 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.
The rights of
Eraring Energy in relation to engagement and re-engagement of casual employees
are not affected, other than in accordance with this clause.
Right to request
22.3
(a) An employee entitled to parental leave
may request Eraring Energy to allow the employee:
(i) to extend the period of simultaneous
unpaid parental leave use up to a maximum of eight weeks;
(ii) to extend the period of unpaid parental
leave for a further continuous period of leave not exceeding 12 months;
(iii) 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.
(b) Eraring Energy 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 Eraring
Energy business. Such grounds might
include cost, lack of adequate replacement staff, loss of efficiency and the
impact on customer service.
Employee’s request
and Eraring Energy’s decision to be in writing
(c) Employee’s request and Eraring Energy’s
decision made under 22.3 (a) (ii) and 22.3 (a) (iii) must be recorded in
writing.
Request to return
to work part-time
(d) Where an employee wishes to make a
request under 22.3(a)(iii), such a request must be made as soon as possible but
no less then seven weeks prior to the date upon which the employee is due to
return to work from parental leave.
22.4 Communication during parental leave
(a) Where an employee is on parental leave
and a definite decision has been made to introduce significant change at the
workplace, Eraring Energy shall take reasonable steps to:
(i) 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
(ii) 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.
(b) The employee shall take reasonable steps
to inform Eraring Energy 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.
(c) The employee shall also notify Eraring
Energy of changes of address or other contact details which might affect
Eraring Energy’s capacity to comply with paragraph (a).
5. This
variation shall take effect from the 19 December 2005.
F.
L. WRIGHT J , President
____________________
Printed by
the authority of the Industrial Registrar.