Children's Services Award and Pandemic Leave

The Children's Service Award has now included a temporary entitlement to unpaid pandemic leave.

You can take up to 2 weeks’ unpaid leave (or more by agreement with your employer) if:

• you can’t attend work because you’re required to self-isolate by government or medical authorities (or on the advice of a medical practitioner), or
• government or medical measures are taken in response to the pandemic (like an enforceable government direction closing non-essential businesses) have restricted your ability to work.

You get the full 2 weeks' leave immediately – you don’t have to accrue it. You also don’t have to use all your paid leave before you can access unpaid pandemic leave. It doesn’t affect other leave entitlements and counts as service. You can also continue to receive JobKeeper payments from your employer while taking unpaid pandemic leave. You have to let your employer know as soon as possible that you're going to take pandemic leave, and why you are using it. You may also need to provide evidence.

As per the CHildren's Services Award, it states the following:

X.2.1 Unpaid Pandemic Leave

(a) Subject to clauses X.2.1(b),(c) and (d),any employee is entitled to take up to 2 weeks’unpaid leave if the employee is required by government or medical authorities or on the advice of a medical practitioner to self-isolate and is consequently prevented from working,or is otherwise prevented from working by measures taken by the government or medical authorities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

(b) The employee must give their employer notice of the taking of leave under clause X.2.1(a) and of the reason the employee requires the leave,as soon as practicable (which may be a time after the leave has started).

(c) An employee who has given their employer notice of taking leave under clause X.2.1(a) must,if required by the employer,give the employer evidence that would satisfy a reasonable person that the leave is taken for a reason given in clause X.2.1(a).

(d) A period of leave under clause X.2.1(a) must start before 30 June 2020,but may end after that date.

(e) Leave taken under clause X.2.1(a) does not affect any other paid or unpaid leave entitlement of the employee and counts as service for the purposes of entitlements under this award and the NES.

NOTE: The employer and employee may agree that the employee may take more than 2 weeks’unpaid pandemic leave.

Reference:
Children's Services Award 2010