L8 Leave entitlements for teachers in their first years of permanent service

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1 L8 entitlements for teachers in their first years of permanent service 8. 1 Introduction This leaflet is designed to give basic information to teachers in the first years of permanent employment or upon re-employment. It is by no means exhaustive and if more specific information is required members should access: the appropriate Welfare and Information leaflets available at or ring for the Communications Room. the leave section of the Teachers Handbook at teachers-handbook/handbook_ch4_itm.pdf. further information for beginning teachers available school-careers/teaching/your-teaching-career/approvedteachers/information-for-newly-appointed-teachers/ salary-advice-for-newly-appointed-teachers. 8.2 Accessing your leave entitlement All permanent teachers, as well as some temporary teachers and long term casuals, can access their leave entitlements via the Employee Self Service (ESS) link after logging into the DEC portal. Alternatively, teachers can contact the relevant Employee Services centre at either Newcastle or Wollongong Members should note that their principal/supervisor may access their leave records, but must notify the member in writing first. If a member believes that her/his leave record is incorrect, that member should request an audit of their leave. If there is still a problem the member should call the Federation for further assistance. 8.3 Family and community service (FACS) leave L8.3.1 Under what circumstances can you apply for FACS leave? Teachers can utilise FACS leave to meet a range of family activities and community service responsibilities including: accommodation adoption (refer to Welfare and Information leaflet L5 Maternity, adoption and parental leave) birth of a child citizenship deaths and funerals family law proceedings floods, bushfires and other natural emergencies pre-natal classes sporting fixtures (refer to Teachers Handbook) removal of residence. This could include a need to respond to an emergency situation or in the event of planned absences for family and community service responsibilities where some advance notice is given Are part time teachers eligible? FACS leave is available to permanent teachers, permanent part time teachers and temporary teachers Entitlements The maximum amount of FACS leave which may be granted is: during the first 12 months of service, three working days, or after completion of 12 months of service, six working days in any period of two years, or alternatively, the entitlement is calculated by allowing one day for each completed year of service, less the total amount of FACS leave previously granted during the teacher s service Additional FACS leave Where FACS leave has been exhausted, additional paid FACS leave of up to two days may be granted on a discrete per occasion basis to a teacher on the death of a family member Carers leave to care for dependants When FACS leave has been exhausted, and a teacher has responsibilities to a person who needs her/his care and support she/he shall be entitled to use the existing balance of: annual sick leave, and/or cumulative sick leave accrued from the past three years Documentation required for personal carers leave The teacher needs to provide either a medical certificate or statutory declaration. The document provided needs to state that the person is suffering an illness that requires a carer and that the teacher is the appropriate person to provide that care. The exact nature of the illness does not need to be revealed. Applications for leave in excess of three days must be supported by either a medical certificate or statutory declaration. Refer to Welfare and Information leaflet L1 Family and community service leave and personal carers leave for further information. 8.5 Special leave Special leave is a form of paid leave available to teachers for purposes specified by the Department of Education and Communities. It covers activities which are not regarded 1

2 as being on duty but which are not covered by other forms of leave. Various annual limits are placed on each category (or reason) for which special leave is available. A few examples are listed below Attendance at examinations A maximum of five days special leave is available annually to allow attendance (including travelling time) at university, TAFE or other examinations in NSW and ACT as approved by the Director-General. Principals/supervisors have the authority to approve examination and pre-examination leave. may be approved on the production of the examination timetable. Formal application to the School Education Area office is not required unless a teacher is seeking to attend examinations at a tertiary institution outside those specified above (including interstate). When the examination is to be held: in the morning no pre-examination leave is available in the afternoon half day leave available on the morning of the same day in the evening half day leave available on the afternoon of the same day. (See also Study, Teachers Handbook, Section 4.15) Attendance at graduation ceremonies Teachers may be granted special leave for a maximum of one day for the minimum time necessary for attendance at their own graduation ceremony for the award of a degree or a diploma from a recognised tertiary institution. Teachers in isolated locations who require additional time to travel to and from a graduation ceremony may be granted family and community service leave (FACS) to credit to a maximum of two days specifically for travel. For graduation ceremonies for family members, teachers should apply for FACS leave Attendance at celebrations for National Aboriginal Day and Torres Strait Islander Day Teachers who are descendants of, or who identify as Aboriginal may be granted up to one day s special leave to participate in National Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders Day celebrations Trade Union Training courses Teachers may be granted up to twelve days special leave in any period of two years to attend Trade Union Training courses conducted by Trade Union Training Australia or the NSW Teachers Federation State emergencies Teachers who are volunteer members of the State Emergency Services or Bush Fire Brigade who serve during emergency operations will be regarded as being on duty when engaged in an emergency which occurs during normal working hours. Further information available. For further information, including other reasons, refer to Welfare and Information leaflet L2 Special leave and Section 4.14 of the Teachers Handbook. Applications should be made in advance through the principal/supervisor. 8.6 Exemption from Federation fees while on period of no pay Members who take LWOP or unpaid maternity can apply for exemption from Federation fees for the period they are not working in a public school or TAFE. If the category of employment changes (for example, casual work is undertaken), contact Federation to vary the membership to remain financial. Refer to 8.15 for Federation contact details. 8.7 without pay (LWOP) How much leave without pay (LWOP) is available in one s career? LWOP is granted at the principal s discretion. The maximum a teacher can take in her/his teaching career for personal reasons is three years. LWOP can be taken in whole school years and/or blocks of a term or consecutive terms. Shorter periods of LWOP may be considered for situations requiring compassionate consideration. In these circumstances the normal LWOP conditions may be varied Is LWOP available to all teachers? It is available to all permanent teachers. Generally, temporary teachers will not be granted extended periods of LWOP during a temporary engagement unless special circumstances exist. However, they may still apply Eligibility A teacher must have two years service as a permanent teacher immediately prior to the first day of leave. Casual and temporary service does not count Notice required Teachers need to give three months notice. LWOP may be granted at short notice when there are compassionate reasons Length of time between periods of LWOP Generally teachers are expected to resume duty for two years before applying for a further period of LWOP. All maternity leave and long service leave counts as service for this purpose Approval of leave and right of return to substantive position From term 4, 2012 principals have had the authority to approve applications for LWOP. Where the principal approves the leave the teacher will retain right of return to their substantive position Requesting an extension of LWOP If the principal refuses an extension to the LWOP period the teacher either returns to duty or is deemed to have abandoned their employment. The teacher is expected to resign or may be dismissed. Advice should be sought from the Federation as soon as possible. Refer to 8.15 for contact numbers LWOP for personal business urgent matters Applications will be considered for short periods of LWOP to attend to urgent matters. Applications should be submitted at the earliest opportunity accompanied by a statement of the nature of 2

3 the business. See also Welfare and Information leaflets L1 Family and community service leave and personal carers leave and L2 Special leave as sometimes the reason for leave may be available as paid leave in either of these forms LWOP for your marriage and/or honeymoon The regulations state that as far as possible marriages should be arranged during school vacations. However, leave may be granted for up to 10 working days in exceptional circumstances. The leave application should be submitted six weeks in advance and should be accompanied by all relevant information. Refer to Welfare and Information leaflet L3 without pay and part time leave without pay for further detail. 8.8 Maternity/adoption/parental leave Maternity and adoption entitlement Paid maternity and adoption leave is available to all permanent teachers who have completed 40 weeks continuous service. The 40 weeks continuous service includes: full time casual teaching which merges without a break with permanent or temporary service previous service with NSW government departments and instrumentalities provided that there was a break of no more than two months between the two periods of employment. The 40 weeks continuous service is a once only requirement. Maternity/adoption leave will be unpaid maternity/adoption leave if the birth occurs within the first 40 weeks of service after employment or re-employment Parental leave entitlement Unpaid parental leave is available to permanent and temporary teachers for whom maternity or adoption leave does not apply. When a teacher has completed 40 weeks of continuous service she/he is entitled to one week paid parental leave. This can be taken on full or half pay. The 40 weeks continuous service only needs to be completed once Some other options for permanent and temporary teachers Teachers on maternity/adoption/parental leave have a right to request: a) an extension of the unpaid portion of leave to a maximum of 24 months from the actual date of birth b) a return to work on a part time basis until the child reaches school age c) a period of simultaneous unpaid maternity, adoption and parental leave of up to eight weeks. The request must be in writing and the Department of Education and Communities (DEC) must give a response in writing. If a teacher believes her/his request has been declined unfairly she/he should contact the Federation for assistance. Refer to Welfare and Information leaflet L5 Maternity, adoption and parental leave for further details. 8.9 Sick leave Sick leave for teachers in their first year of service Newly appointed permanent teachers will receive a proportion of the 15 days on a pro-rata basis from the date of their first appointment. Teachers commencing their first temporary or permanent appointment after January 29, 2009 may be entitled to an additional maximum 15 days over the first two years of their employment provided: the teacher s principal, supervisor or nominee certifies there are no current concerns regarding the teacher s use of their sick leave; and the teacher has exhausted all sick leave entitlements to date Sick leave for re-employed permanent teachers Teachers who are re-employed permanently after resignation are entitled to their annual sick leave including accumulated sick leave from their prior service Medical certificates A medical certificate must support all periods of absence of more than three days. However the Department interprets this to mean that all periods of absence of three days or more require a medical certificate. The Department has the power to direct that a teacher produces a medical certificate for any period of sick leave. However, it normally only does this when it believes a teacher s leave record is unsatisfactory Sick leave of three days or less Federation advises that teachers consider the following points when filling in a sick leave application for absences of three days or less: 1. Since 1985 there has been no requirement by the Department for teachers to state the nature of their illness on the sick leave form for absences of three days or less. If a teacher chooses to use e-laps (Electronic Application and Processing Service) then it is necessary to select illness or injury but the nature of the illness or injury remains confidential. 2. It is advisable for teachers to get a doctor s certificate, if they visit a doctor, for sick leave periods of three days or less. For longer periods a doctor s certificate is always required. It is not necessary to produce this certificate when completing the sick leave form for these short absences. The certificate should be kept and can be produced if the teacher s sick leave record is queried by the Department under the sick leave monitoring procedures. 3. It is to a teacher s advantage to fully document their sick leave. This is dealt with in point 6.11 of the Welfare and Information leaflet L6 Sick leave Sick leave confidentiality 3

4 Where a medical certificate is required, the Department requires teachers to furnish a medical certificate stating the nature of the illness, but where the doctor does not disclose the nature of a teacher s illness on the medical certificate, the Department will accept the doctor s certificate. Where teachers wish to keep this confidential the following procedure should be followed. The medical certificate should be placed in a sealed envelope and marked confidential. This should be attached to the leave application. A signed statement authorising a WorkCover approved occupational physician to contact the teacher s doctor should also be submitted. These documents should be sent to the Employee Services centre via the principal in the usual way. Refer to Welfare and Information leaflet L6 Sick leave for further detail Workers compensation claim What benefit is there in lodging a workers compensation claim? Teachers can claim workers compensation benefits, such as weekly payments for periods off work, treatment expenses and lump sums for permanent impairment, if they: are injured at work; are injured on the way to or from work in very limited circumstances; are injured at any time out of school hours while on duty; contract an illness from students or other teachers on staff; or contract an illness, where the workplace is a substantial contributing factor, or, if a disease, where employment is the main contributing factor How do I lodge a claim? If a teacher suffers a work related injury they should notify the employer as soon as possible that they are making a claim for workers compensation. Such notification is usually made to the Notification Hotline The teacher needs to provide the employer with an appropriate WorkCover medical certificate in which the treating doctor should state: the nature of injury and that work is a substantial contributing factor to the injury; or if the injury is a disease that work is the main contributing factor; how long the teacher will be off work, and/or what restrictions the injury places on the teacher s capacity to work. There are instances when the teacher will need to submit a written claim form as well. Such instances include: if the insurer requests one; if the teacher will be off work for 12 weeks or longer or medical expenses will exceed $5000; if the insurer decides not to start provisional payments or stops making provisional payments. Teachers need to remember that they have a right to lodge a claim for workers compensation and that the employer has a responsibility to notify its insurer within 48 hours that a work related injury has occurred. The insurer can refuse to pay provisional payments if the injured worker does not promptly make a claim. Claims for weekly benefits should be made within six months of the injury date. Compensation may not be recovered if a claim is made more than three years after an injury unless it resulted in death or serious and permanent disablement What types of injuries can be claimed? Physical injuries Any physical injuries, including voice or hearing problems, that are substantially caused by work. Teachers are also covered if they are on duty away from the workplace, for example, on an excursion. Journey claims New arrangements came into effect on June 27, There is only very limited access to compensation for injuries sustained travelling to or from home and work. If injured when travelling between home and work, the teacher should seek advice from Federation as to whether there are other legal avenues. Teachers are generally no longer covered travelling between home and work but should be covered if they are required to travel between worksites such as those teaching across campuses, or to attend school endorsed activities away from their substantive worksite. Itinerant teachers should also be covered for journey claims travelling from school to school but these cases may need to be legally tested under the 2012 changes to workers compensation legislation. Motor vehicle accidents If involved in a motor vehicle accident when travelling between home and work, a teacher may have valuable rights under motor accidents legislation. Motor accidents must be reported to the police within 28 days of the accident. An Accident Notification Form should also be completed within 28 days to access early payment of treatment expenses and wage loss up to $5000. This benefit is payable whether you are at fault or not. A formal motor vehicle accident claim form must be lodged with the Compulsory Third Party Insurer within six months of the motor accident. It is important for the teacher to contact Federation s Communication/Welfare section to seek advice. Infectious diseases Teachers can claim compensation for infectious diseases such as glandular fever, whooping cough and measles if their employment was the main contributing factor to contracting the disease. To establish whether it is more probable that the disease was contracted at work a statement setting out the names of students and staff suffering from the disease with whom the teacher has L8 entitlements for teachers L1 in FACS* their first years and Personal of permanent Carers service leave NSW Teachers Federation December November

5 been in contact, dates of their absences from school and the nature and extent of contact with the students or staff should be supplied. Psychological injuries If the teacher is suffering from a diagnosable psychiatric condition, for example, anxiety or adjustment disorder, for which their doctor believes work to be a substantial contributing factor, a claim for workers compensation should be lodged. If the teacher is suffering from a psychiatric condition which is diagnosed as a disease, employment will have to be the main contributing factor to the disease Do I need to lodge a leave form? Yes. Even though a workers compensation claim has been made, the teacher still needs to submit the appropriate leave form either on the paper form or through e-laps. Teachers should indicate the nature of leave as sick/accident leave. They should also tick yes to question 4 on the form which asks, Is workers compensation leave involved? A copy of the WorkCover medical certificate should accompany the form. Copies of these documents should be retained by the teacher. It is important that when the absence is extended Employee Services are notified promptly. Do not save up the certificates nor the lodgement of the leave until you return to duty Long service leave Long service leave may be available to employees who have completed prior service in other public service agencies. Conditions apply. Teachers may wish to contact Employee Services to enquire as to whether his/her previous service has been accredited. Refer to Welfare and Information leaflet L4 Long service leave for further detail Other forms of leave available to teachers Other forms of leave available to teachers are leave in the case of natural emergencies, leave for sporting fixtures, military leave and study leave. Conditions apply in all cases. Refer to the Teachers Handbook for further information Relocation subsidy on first employment or re-employment On first employment or re-employment, teachers are not eligible for the provision of the Transferred Officers Compensation Determination. Permanent and temporary teachers appointed to schools in specific areas of the state may be entitled to a relocation subsidy when it is necessary to leave their existing residence and take up a new residence which is more than 150 kilometres from their existing residence. Further information can be obtained from the teacher s regional School Education Area office. a) Relocation of residence 151 to 200 kilometres travel assistance at 12 cents per kilometre for total distance. b) Relocation of residence 201 kilometres or more travel assistance at 12 cents per kilometre and assistance with the cost of removal of personal and household effects at the rate of $1 per kilometre for the total distance. c) Teachers are required to sign an undertaking to repay any amounts received if they do not serve for a complete school year or in the case of temporary teachers, the temporary engagement is terminated early at the instigation of the temporary teacher. (Refer to Section 1.7 of the Teachers Handbook for further information.) 8.14 Additional release time In the first year of their appointment, permanent teachers on probation are entitled to one hour additional release time. For primary school teachers this means a three hour per week entitlement. For secondary teachers this means they have a reduction of their period allowance of one hour per week. Although equivalent to one hour per week, the allocation can be accumulated and used as a block. For most secondary teachers, unless the school operates on 60 minute periods some accumulation will be necessary to avoid splitting lessons. However, the allocation must be used during the term in which it is accumulated. Refer to Welfare and Information leaflet M1 Advice for new scheme teachers for further information Role of the union Federation Officers give information and advice regarding work based issues. Federation has both regional and city offices. NSW Teachers Federation Head Office Ph: (02) or Fax: (02) mail@nswtf.org.au Regional Office Telephone Bathurst (02) Blacktown (02) Broken Hill (02) Dubbo (02) Lismore (02) Newcastle (02) Port Macquarie (02) Queanbeyan (02) Tamworth (02) Wagga Wagga (02) Wollongong (02) This leaflet sets out in summary, current service conditions, information and advice regarding relevant Department of Education and Communities (DEC) policy documents and other legislative requirements. It is not intended to be exhaustive as changes occur from time to time. Members should also refer to the relevant DEC documents. Members who are given conflicting advice or who are uncertain about their entitlements can contact Federation on (02) or or the Federation website ( Authorised by Jenny Diamond, General Secretary, NSW Teachers Federation, Mary Street,Surry Hills NSW L8 November