Crown Employees (Domestic Services Officers - Department of Agriculture) Award

 

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES

 

Correction to Serial C4829 published 25 August 2006

 

(360 I.G. 756)

 

(No. IRC 367 of 2006)

 

CORRECTION

 

1.          Delete clause 10, Leave and insert in lieu thereof the following:

 

10.  Leave

 

(i)         General leave conditions of employees under this Award shall be regulated in accordance with the provisions contained within the Public Sector Employment and Management Act 2002 and Regulation.

 

(ii)        When Colleges are in recess and it is necessary to stand down staff, employees employed in such colleges shall be paid half ordinary pay for the period during which they have been stood down, provided that they have been continuously employed for the college term immediately preceding and for the college term immediately following the period of recess.

 

(iii)       During any period of annual leave taken by an employee that employee shall be paid, in addition to his/her ordinary rate of pay prescribed in clause 3 Salaries, any amount in respect of shift penalties to which he/she would have become entitled had he/she not proceeded on annual leave.  Such shift penalties to be calculated in accordance with his/her roster or projected roster for the period of annual leave.

 

(iv)       Employees who are regularly rostered to perform rostered duty on Sundays and Public Holidays shall be granted additional leave on the following basis:

 

 

(v)        In addition to the leave entitlements set out above, the following provisions shall also apply.

 

(a)        An employer must not fail to re-engage a regular casual employee (see section 53(2) of the Industrial Relations Act 1996) because:

 

(i)         the employee or employee's spouse is pregnant; or

 

(ii)        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.

 

(b)        Right to Request

 

(i)         An employee entitled to parent leave may request the employer to allow the employee:

 

(A)       extend the period of simultaneous unpaid parent leave 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)       return from a period of parent leave on a part time basis until the child reaches school age;

 

to assist the staff member in reconciling work and parental responsibilities.

 

(ii)        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.

 

(iii)       Employee's request and the employer's decision made under subparagraph 10(v)(b)(i) and 10(v)(b)(ii) above, must be recorded in writing.

 

(iv)      Request to return to work part-time

 

Where an employee wished to make a request under subparagraph 10(v)(b)(i)(C) above, such a request must be made as soon as possible but no less that seven weeks prior to the date upon which the employee is due to return to work from parental leave.

 

(c)        Communication during Parental Leave

 

(i)         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.

 

(ii)        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.

 

(iii)       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 subparagraph 10(v)(c)(i).

 

 

 

G. M. GRIMSON  Industrial Registrar.

 

 

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Printed by the authority of the Industrial Registrar.