Leave and other entitlements

Aboriginal cultural leave

Five days of paid leave a year for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people to assist in cultural and ceremonial obligations or community culture events.

Aboriginal family relationships

To recognise Aboriginal family relationships and expand eligibility to access personal leave, compassionate and bereavement leave and family violence leave. For the purpose of accessing these leave types, the new provision provides for the substitution of Aboriginal family relationships in the place of "immediate family".

Employees are entitled to be absent from work in the event of the death of a member of their immediate family or household.

The term “immediate family or household member” includes:

• a spouse or partner
• a relative of the employee or employee’s spouse or partner, including:
  • a child (including adopted, step or ex-nuptial)
  • a parent (including foster, step or legal guardian)
  • a grandparent
  • a grandchild
  • a sibling or step sibling
  • any person who usually resides with the employee.

Permanent and fixed-term employees

Paid leave: Permanent and fixed-term employees may take up to 10 days paid bereavement leave in the event of the death of a member of their immediate family or household. Additional paid leave may be granted at the department’s discretion.

Unpaid leave: Unpaid bereavement leave may be taken by agreement with the department.

Casual employees

Casual employees can take unpaid time off work, or leave work upon the death of an immediate family or household member in Australia. The casual employee should discuss their leave requirements with their manager and agree on the time they’ll be away from work. If no agreement is reached, the employee can be absent from work for up to two days per occasion. The casual employee will not be paid while they’re absent from work.

Evidence required

The department may request evidence of death in the form of a death notice or other written evidence.

You can receive up to 20 working days leave on full pay in any one year if you are a part-time member of the Australian Defence Force. This paid entitlement is in addition to any payment made by the Defence Force. A leave year for defence force leave is from the anniversary of your date of appointment.

You are also able to receive additional leave of not more than 10 working days in any one year to undertake initial training upon becoming a member of the Defence Force. This paid entitlement is in addition to any payment made by the Defence Force.

An additional 10 workings days in any leave year may be granted to enable you to undertake additionally required Defence Force service. This entitlement provides for an amount equal to the employee’s normal salary for the period of leave, less any Defence Force pay or allowance received by the employee in respect of that period.

Fixed-term employees can access Defence Force leave after completion of three months of continuous service. However, if your Defence Force service leave extends beyond your fixed-term contract expiration, then Defence Force leave will only be paid to the end of the contract period.

Emergency service activities are when an employee, who is a registered volunteer in a specified emergency service organisation, is requested to respond to an emergency situation involving volunteer assistance during normal working hours.

State Service employees who are registered volunteers with the Tasmania Fire Service, Ambulance Tasmania or the State Emergency Service are covered.

Requests for leave need to be provided to your manager and should include full information, such as the requirement for absence and the likely length of such absence. Any approval for leave will also need to consider if the officer or employee is able without undue disruption to the operational requirements of the agency to be released to assist in responding to the emergency.

You will be granted leave with pay for the whole period you are required to attend court for jury service.

If you are summoned for jury duty while on leave, your leave will be credited for the time spent on jury duty.

You can apply for a continuous leave of absence for a period of up to three years, although it is unusual for the department to approve an absence of more than one year in each instance. If fixed-term employees are granted leave without pay (LWOP), it will only be up to the conclusion of their current contract of employment.

Leave without pay for a period of up to three years may be granted at the discretion of the head of agency. Generally, LWOP will only be approved if there is a benefit to the agency and in consideration of the:

• benefit to the department's provision of services
• operational needs of the department
• capacity to satisfactorily backfill the employee's position
• benefit of such leave to an individual's personal growth and development.

All employees are eligible for long service leave after 10 years of continuous employment. Service includes time as a fixed-term employee, as well as time on probation.

Continuous employment means service that has not been interrupted by a break in employment from the State Service. Employment is still regarded as continuous where an employee takes any period of:

• long service leave
• recreation leave or sick leave
• any other period of approved leave of absence
• any period of absence of up to three years from duty so long as during that absence the employee is in receipt of a pension under the Retirement Benefits Act 1993
• any period of absence of up to 12 months from duty arising from redundancy or standing down so long as the employee is re-employed within that 12 months after being made redundant or stood down
• any period of absence of up to 12 months from duty because of ill-health so long as the employee is re-employed within that 12 months after ceasing employment and is not entitled to a pension under the Retirement Benefits Act 1993.

The continuous employment of an employee is not interrupted if the employee is appointed or transferred to another position in the employment of the state so long as the employee commences duty in that position within a period of three months after being so appointed or transferred.

The continuous employment of an employee is interrupted if:

• an employee resigns or retires and is re-employed 3 months or more after resigning or retiring
• a period of three months or more occurs between periods of employment of that person.

To be eligible for the full 52 weeks of parental leave, you must have been employed in the State Service:

• full-time or part-time for at least 12 months
• for a fixed-term with at least 12 months of continuous service (providing the period of leave does not extend the employment term)
• as an eligible casual employee.

An eligible casual employee is someone employed during a period of at least 12 months (either on a regular and systematic basis for several periods of employment, or on a regular and systematic basis for an ongoing period of employment) and who has a reasonable expectation of ongoing employment.

Before applying for parental leave, contact your agency's human resources team.

As a State Service employee, you may take personal leave to:

• Recover from personal illness or injury.
• Care for members of your immediate family or household who are sick and require care and support.
• Care for members of your immediate family or household who require care due to an unexpected emergency.

Immediate family or household member includes:

• A spouse or partner.
• A relative of an employee or an employee’s spouse or partner, including:
  • a child (including adopted, step or ex-nuptial)
  • a parent (including foster, step or legal guardian)
  • a grandparent
  • a grandchild
  • a sibling or step-sibling
  • any person who usually resides with an employee.

State Service employees are entitled to 20 working days of recreation leave on full pay for each completed year of employment. The leave year starts on 1 October, however your leave entitlements will be pro-rata, based on the proportion of the leave year you have been employed.

Part-time employees accrue recreation leave on a pro rata basis according to the hours they work during a year.

If you become ill while taking annual leave, you can apply to deduct those days from your sick leave and have the days concerned re-credited to your recreation leave. You will need to provide a medical certificate.

Special leave covers leave in relation to special circumstances, such as the serious illness of a near relative, participation in a national or international sporting or cultural event, pressing needs of the employee or emergency service activities.

Special leave may be granted for the following reasons:

• Attending the funeral of a close friend.
• Attending to emergency repairs of home as a result of storms or floods.
• The serious illness of a near relative. Special leave will not be granted to an employee who is entitled to personal leave in respect of that relative. However, if the employee's personal leave entitlement has been fully utilised, the employee can apply for special leave in accordance with the special leave entitlements.
• Participating in national or international sporting and cultural events.
• Any other circumstance considered by the department to be special and extraordinary.

If you are granted special leave, in each leave year, it cannot exceed 3 days if you were employed after 1 July 1990 and not exceed 5 days if you were employed prior to 1 July 1990.

Sporting and cultural leave are discretionary forms of leave and are not granted automatically. The head of agency may grant an employee leave with pay to participate in a recognised sporting or cultural event at national or international level as:

• a participant
• an official of a team or other body, competing or participating in that event
• an official engaged in the administration of that event.

Eligible employees may be granted sporting and cultural leave on the following conditions:

• The employee's application for leave must be accompanied by written evidence from the relevant sporting or cultural body clearly stating the nature of the event, whether the employee will be a paid representative, and the fact that the employee was selected on merit (through competition for sporting events).
• Where the employee will be paid for their representation (by retainer or other means), approval must be sought from the head of agency. Paid representatives are unlikely to be granted approval for sporting and cultural leave unless they can demonstrate financial hardship.
• The employee must be representing Tasmania at a national event or the employee must be representing Australia at an international event.
• Leave will not be granted to allow for participation in selection trials or for training purposes.
• Applications, together with supporting evidence from the relevant association, must be received prior to the date of the sporting or cultural event.

Where the event will extend beyond the leave available under these provisions, a separate application for recreation leave, long service leave or leave without pay should be submitted for consideration. Employees not granted sporting or cultural leave may be eligible for leave without pay.

You may be entitled to receive leave with or without pay for the purposes of further study. It is usually only given where the study will benefit the organisation. Check with your agency's human resources team for further information.

By agreement with your supervisor, you may choose your own start and finish times. While you must typically be present during core hours (between 10 am and 4 pm), you can bank extra hours on some days to take time off later.

Employees on flex time record their start, finish and lunch times each day. If you are on flex time, you will need to discuss the details, especially any time off you wish to take, with your supervisor.

Employees are classified as part-time if they work less than the normal amount of full-time hours a fortnight, but still have a regular work cycle. They are paid a proportion of the equivalent full-time salary and recreation leave accumulates on a proportionate basis.

Many State Service employees job share. Job sharing is where two or more people work in the same position on different days or times. Speak to your agency's human resources team for further information.

If you have commitments outside of work, for example children at school or in childcare, you may be able to negotiate more practical start or finish times. You will need to negotiate the details with your supervisor to ensure the operational needs of your workplace are met.

Occasional or regular remote work may be available depending on your role. Working from home is not a substitute for long-term primary childcare.

Talk to your supervisor and your agency's human resources team if you would like to explore this possibility.

We support breastfeeding employees by providing lactation breaks and a dedicated, private area (where possible).

The State Service Accumulated Leave Scheme (SSALS) is a work arrangement where you work full-time over an agreed period but are paid a proportion of your normal salary.

This allows you to bank extra hours that you take as accumulated leave while receiving the same proportional salary.

All State Service employees can choose to participate in SSALS. Approval is granted by your head of agency and depends on work requirements and staffing needs.

Talk to your supervisor about the SSALS options available to you or contact your agency's human resoureses team.

Salary sacrifice is an arrangement where you and your employer agree for you to receive less income before tax. In return, your employer pays for certain benefits of similar value for you.

Options available to State Service employees include salary sacrificing superannuation and salary sacrificing certain fringe benefit tax exempt items.

For more information on the salary sacrifice options available to you, check your agency's intranet or contact your agency's human resources team.

The workplace giving scheme allows State Service employees to donate money on a regular basis to a deductible gift recipient (DGR) through their pay. A DGR is an organisation that can receive donations that are tax deductible.

Speak to your agency's human resources team for more information or to set up a deduction.

If your organisation is interested in being part of the giving scheme, complete the application form and return it to the State Service Management Office by email at ssmo@dpac.tas.gov.au or by post.