Unpaid Pandemic Leave and Annual Leave At Half Pay Extended

Fair Work Commission has extended the entitlement to unpaid pandemic leave and annual leave at half pay for the Children's Services Award until 30 September 2020.

In the Children's Services Award states the following:

Schedule X—Additional Measures During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Unpaid pandemic leave - an 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 a government or medical authorities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The employee must give their employer notice of the taking of leave, the reason the employee requires the leave, as soon as practicable (which may be a time after the leave has started).
• An employee who has given their employer notice of taking leave, if required by the employer, give the employer evidence that would satisfy a reasonable person that the leave is taken for a reason.
• A period of leave must start before 30 September 2020, but may end after that date.
• Leave taken 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.

Annual Leave At Half Pay

• Instead of an employee taking paid annual leave on full pay, the employee and their employer may agree to the employee taking twice as much leave on half-pay.
• Any agreement to take twice as much annual leave at half pay must be recorded in writing and retained as an employee record.
• A period of leave must start before 30 September 2020, but may end after that date.

EXAMPLE: Instead of an employee taking one week’s annual leave on full pay, the employee and their employer may agree to the employee taking 2 weeks’annual leave on half-pay. In this example:

• the employee’s pay for the 2 weeks’leave is the same as the pay the employee would have been entitled to for one week’s leave on full pay (where one week’s full pay includes leave loading under the Annual Leave clause of this award); and
• one week of leave is deducted from the employee’s annual leave accrual.

Reference:
Children's Services Award 2010