COMMUNITY PHARMACY (STATE) AWARD 2001
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES
FAMILY PROVISIONS CASE - 19
DECEMBER 2005.
(No. IRC 4201 of 2005)
VARIATION
1. Delete
paragraphs 29.1.1 and 29.1.2, of clause 29, Personal/Carers Leave, of the award
published 21 December 2001 (330 IG 597), and insert in lieu thereof the
following:
29.1.1 An
employee, other than a casual employee, with responsibilities in relation to a
class of person set out in subclause 29.1.3(b) 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 28, Sick
Leave, of the award, for absences to provide care and support for such persons
when they are ill, or who require care due to an unexpected emergency. Such leave may be taken for part of a single
day.
29.1.2 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.
2. Delete
paragraph 29.2.1, of the said clause 29, and insert in lieu thereof the
following:
29.2.1 An employee may
elect, with the consent of the employer, to take unpaid leave for the purpose
of providing care and support to a class of person set out in 29.1.3(b) above
who is ill or who requires care due to an unexpected emergency.
3. Delete
paragraph 29.3.1, of the said clause 29, and insert in lieu thereof the
following:
29.3.1 An employee may
elect, with the consent of the employer 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.
4. Insert after
paragraph 29.3.3, of the said clause 29, the following new paragraph:
29.3.4 An
employee may elect with the employers agreement to take annual leave at any
time within a period of 24 months from the date at which it falls due.
5. Insert after
subclause 29.5, of the said clause 29, the following new subclause:
29.6 Personal Carers
Entitlement for casual employees
29.6.1 Subject
to the evidentiary and notice requirements in 29.1.2 and 29.1.4 casual
employees are entitled to not be available to attend work, or to leave work if
they need to care for a person prescribed in 29.1.3(b) of this clause who are
sick and require care and support, or who require care due to an unexpected
emergency, or the birth of a child.
29.6.2 The
employer 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.
29.6.3 An
employer 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
to engage a casual employee are otherwise not affected.”
6. Insert after
subclause 30.5, of clause 30, Bereavement Leave, the following new subclause:
30.6 Bereavement
entitlements for casual employees
30.6.1 Subject
to the evidentiary and notice requirements in subclauses 29.1.2 and 29.1.4
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 subclause 29.1.3(b)
of clause 29, Personal/Carers Leave.
30.6.2 The
employer 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.
30.6.3 An
employer 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.”
7. Delete clause
34, Parental Leave, and insert in lieu thereof the following:
34. Parental Leave
34.1 Refer to the Industrial
Relations Act 1996 (NSW). The following provisions shall also apply in
addition to the Industrial Relations Act
1996 (NSW)
34.2 An employer
must not fail to re-engage a regular casual employee (see section 53(2) of the
Act) because:
34.2.1 the
employee or employee’s spouse is pregnant; or
34.2.2 the
employee is or has been immediately absent on parental leave.
The rights of an employer in relation to engagement and
re-engagement of casual employees are not affected, other than in accordance
with this clause.
34.3 Right to
request
34.3.1 An
employee entitled to parental leave may request the employer to allow the
employee:
(a) to
extend the period of simultaneous unpaid parental leave use up to a maximum of
eight weeks;
(b) to
extend the period of unpaid parental leave for a further continuous period of
leave not exceeding 12 months;
(c) 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.
34.3.2 The
employer 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 the employer’s business. Such grounds might include cost, lack of
adequate replacement staff, loss of efficiency and the impact on customer service.
34.3.3 Employee’s
request and the employer’s decision to be in writing.
The employee’s request and the employer’s decision made
under 34.3.1(b) and 34.3.1(c) must be recorded in writing.
34.3.4 Request
to return to work part-time
Where an employee wishes to make a request under 34.3.1(c)
such a request must be made as soon as possible but no less than seven weeks
prior to the date upon which the employee is due to return to work from
parental leave.
34.4 Communication
during parental leave
34.4.1 Where
an employee is on parental leave and a definite decision has been made to
introduce significant change at the workplace, the employer shall take
reasonable steps to:
(a) 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
(b) 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.
34.4.2 The
employee shall take reasonable steps to inform the employer 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.
34.4.3 The
employee shall also notify the employer of changes of address or other contact
details which might affect the employer’s capacity to comply with 34.4.1 above.
8. This
variation shall take effect from 19 December 2005.
____________________
NOTE: This variation is made pursuant to s 50 of
the Industrial Relations Act 1996, to give effect to the orders made by
the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales (Full Commission: Wright P, Sams DP, Staff J and Ritchie C) on
19 December 2005, published 27 January
2006 (353 I.G. 731).
G.
M. GRIMSON Industrial
Registrar.
____________________
Printed by
the authority of the Industrial Registrar.