Leave Procedure

Procedure overview

• 1 Purpose
• 2 Scope
• 3 Procedure Overview
• 4 Procedures
  • 4.1 Categories of leave
    • 4.1.1 Leave entitlements and conditions
    • 4.1.2 Leave Without Pay
  • 4.2 Gazetted show holidays
  • 4.3 How to apply for leave
  • 4.4 Absence from duty
  • 4.5 Leave records
• 5 Delegations
• 6 References
• 7 Schedules
• 8 Procedure Information

1 Purpose

To outline the categories of leave and the associated entitlements and absence provisions available to eligible Employees.

2 Scope

This Procedure applies to eligible continuing, fixed-term, and contingent-funded Employees. This Procedure does not apply to casual Employees, unless stated otherwise.

3 Procedure Overview

This Procedure details the conditions and entitlements relating to the types of leave available, the process to apply for leave, and the approval requirements.

4 Procedures

4.1 Categories of leave

The following categories of leave are available at the University:

• Annual
• Personal
• Carer's
• Compassionate
• Gender Affirmation
• Family and Domestic Violence (refer to the Family and Domestic Violence Procedure)
• Parental (refer to the Parental Leave Procedure)
• Long Service
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural and Ceremonial
• Jury Service
• Defence Force Reserve Training
• Workplace Relations
• Special
• Leave Without Pay
• Community Service (voluntary emergency management).

4.1.1 Leave entitlements and conditions

The following entitlements are based on full-time employment. Part-time Employees are entitled to the pro rata equivalent of the full-time entitlement. Leave eligibility, entitlements, and conditions are as per the Enterprise Agreement.

Leave Type and Entitlement	Conditions	Minimum Notice and Evidence Required
Annual 20 days paid leave per year	Annual leave loading will be paid once in December each year, or upon termination. Supervisors have an obligation to ensure Employees have the capacity to take at least 10 days annual leave each year.	Mutual agreement with the Supervisor prior to taking leave
Personal 10 days paid leave per year	Additional unpaid leave may be granted at the discretion of the University.	Verbal Notice must be provided on the day illness commences. For short term absences, an online absence request is to be submitted as soon as possible, or immediately following return to work. For long term absences, an online absence request should be submitted at the time that the leave commences. Applications for personal leave of longer than three days must be accompanied by a medical certificate or statutory declaration stating the illness of the person concerned
Carer's 3 days paid leave per year and 2 days unpaid leave per occasion. Casual Employees are entitled to 2 days unpaid carer's leave per occasion.	Where entitlements have been exhausted, Employees may use any accrued personal leave for absences. Employees may also elect to use accrued annual leave or time off in lieu of overtime, or take additional unpaid leave with the consent of the University.	Notice as soon as practicable prior to the absence, or verbal Notice on the day the illness commences.
Compassionate 3 days paid leave per occasion. Casual Employees are entitled to 2 days unpaid leave per occasion.		Notice as soon as practicable.
Gender Affirmation 20 days paid leave per year.	Leave may be taken in separate single or multiple days, or in a combined consecutive period.	Mutual agreement with the Supervisor prior to taking leave.
Family and Domestic Violence All Employees (including casual Employees) -10 days paid leave per year, and five days unpaid leave per year	As per the Employee Family and Domestic Violence Support Procedure. Special Leave can be negotiated as required	As soon as practicable. Application is made confidentially to the Chief People Officer, via the People Partnerships team.
Long Service 13 weeks on full pay after 10 years continuous service and 1.3 weeks per year thereafter Casual Employees are entitled to long service leave provided they meet eligibility criteria under the relevant regulatory instrument.	An Employee may, on written request, take the leave wholly or in part, with a minimum of two weeks being taken per occasion. However, one week may be taken in exceptional circumstances. In circumstances where long service leave has been approved, approval may only be revoked by mutual agreement. An Employee who becomes ill during a period of long service leave may claim personal leave instead of long service leave for the period of the illness that is more than three days. A medical certificate must be submitted covering the nature and period of illness. Long service leave may then be extended by the same period, subject to approval by the Delegate.	An Employee will be granted long service leave at the time of their choosing provided they have given six months Notice, in writing. However, where there is mutual agreement between the Employee and the Delegate, Notice of leave may be waived. Where less than six months Notice is provided, leave will be approved or deferred at the discretion of the Delegate.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural and Ceremonial 10 days paid and 15 days unpaid leave per year for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employees.	Additional Information is available in the Cultural and Ceremonial Leave Knowledge Article.	Notice must be provided as soon as practicable. Employees may be required to provide supporting documentation or evidence when requesting access to leave where appropriate.
Jury Service Paid leave during the period of jury selection and jury duty. Casual Employees are eligible for unpaid jury service.	Leave is calculated as the difference between any payment the Employee receives from the court and the Employee's ordinary rate. Employees participating in court proceedings as an expert witness may apply for special leave.	Verbal Notice on the day absence commences at the latest. A leave application must be submitted immediately following return to work. A certificate from the Sheriff's Office or relevant court officer indicating attendance is required.
Defence Force Reserve Training 16 days paid leave per year, or 18 days paid leave per year where certified by the relevant Commanding Officer.		Normally, a minimum of two weeks notice is required. An Authorised Training Notice is to be provided.
Workplace Relations 5 days paid leave per year. Employees who are office bearers or elected representatives of a Union are entitled to a further 5 days paid leave per year.		Normally, a minimum of two weeks Notice is required. A copy of a Notice of registration, or similar, must be provided.
Special Leave Negotiable, paid or unpaid at the discretion of the University.		As soon as practicable.
Community Service (voluntary emergency management) Paid leave, negotiable as required and approved by the University.	Available to an Employee volunteer who is a member of, or has a member-like association with, a recognised emergency management body dealing with an emergency or natural disaster.	As soon as practicable.

4.1.2 Leave Without Pay

Leave without pay is a special provision which may be granted on infrequent occasions depending on the Employee's need. In all cases, approval is subject to the convenience of the University. A maximum period of up to one year will apply.

For periods of leave of more than six months, the following apply:

• The Employee will be required to use available long service leave credits in excess of 18 weeks, where the leave is for personal reasons, unless otherwise approved.
• An Employee will be paid or must exhaust all annual leave entitlements prior to commencing leave.
• Approval will be subject to the Head of Organisational Unit confirming that satisfactory alternative arrangements can be made to meet the needs of the work area during the absence.
• There will be no expectation that the Employee will return to the position held prior to taking leave (with the exception of parental or carer's leave). The Employee is entitled to be placed in a position with no less salary classification.

Periods of leave without pay have the following effects on other entitlements:

• Unpaid leave up to a period of one month will be recognised as service, for the purpose of calculating eligibility for long service leave.
• The increment date will be deferred by a period equivalent to the whole period of leave without pay where the period of leave is in excess of one month (for a period of up to one month, the Employee's increment date will not be changed).
• The period of absence without salary will not count as service for the accrual of annual leave in that calendar year. Annual leave loading will be adjusted in the same way.
• Where leave has been granted due to incapacity, and WorkCover compensation is paid, annual leave accrual is not affected.
• The anniversary date on which an Employee becomes eligible for a further grant of personal leave will be deferred by a period equivalent to the whole period of leave without pay.
• Where unpaid leave has been granted due to ill-health or injury, for periods up to one month, this period will be recognised as service, for the purpose of calculating eligibility for long service leave.
• Employees on unpaid leave before and after a public holiday are not entitled to payment for those hours. Leave without pay commences on the first working day of the leave (excluding public holidays) and ceases on the day prior to resumption of duty. Public holidays which fall in the period of leave without pay form part of the leave and are unpaid.

4.2 Gazetted show holidays

An Employee will not normally be scheduled to attend work on another campus on the gazetted show holiday for their base campus and suitable arrangements should be made as early as possible to ensure this does not occur.

However, in instances where this is unavoidable due to the operational and service provision requirements of the particular work area, the following arrangements will apply:

• For eligible professional Employees, the Employee will be paid at the applicable overtime rate.
• For Academic Employees, and professional Employees not eligible for overtime rates, the Supervisor and Employee must identify an alternative leave day at a mutually agreed time, normally within the following three month period. For example, if a University Springfield Employee is scheduled to work at the Toowoomba Campus on the Ipswich gazetted show holiday, the Employee and their Supervisor must mutually agree on a suitable substitute day of leave. Employees are not required to utilise annual leave entitlements for this substitute day.

4.3 How to apply for leave

Employees must apply for leave using HR Self Service or the Absence Request Form depending on the type of leave. An Employee request for a leave of absence must be approved by the Delegate to achieve minimum disruption to the operations of the University.

All applications for leave require the approval of the Supervisor or other relevant Delegate.

4.4 Absence from duty

Where an Employee is absent without prior notice and approval from the University, the Employee must notify their Supervisor as soon as is practicable. The Employee will be required to advise the Supervisor of the nature and estimated length of the absence.

Where an Employee's absence extends past the length of absence advised to the University, the Employee will notify the Supervisor of any changes.

Failure by an Employee to advise the University of the reason for any absence of more than 10 sequential working days may be considered to be abandonment of employment, and will be managed under the provisions of the Enterprise Agreement.

4.5 Leave records

Leave records will be maintained on the Human Resources Management System in accordance with the General Retention and Disposal Schedule (GRDS) issued by Queensland State Archives.

5 Delegations

Position	Delegation
Supervisor	Approve leave (annual, personal, carer's, compassionate, long service, jury service, defence force reserve training, trade union training, community service, cultural and ceremonial leave, gender affirmation, taking of TOIL, leave without pay less than four weeks).
Category 4 Delegate	Approve leave without pay of four weeks or more, up to six months.
Category 2 Delegate	Approve special leave. Approve leave without pay more than six months and up to one year.

6 References

Nil.

7 Schedules

This procedure must be read in conjunction with its subordinate schedules as provided in the table below.

8 Procedure Information

Accountable Officer	Chief People Officer
Responsible Officer	Chief People Officer
Policy Type	University Procedure
Policy Suite	Flexible Work and Working Arrangements Policy
Subordinate Schedules
Approved Date	28/8/2024
Effective Date	28/8/2024
Review Date	28/8/2029
Relevant Legislation	UniSQ Enterprise Agreement
Policy Exceptions	Policy Exceptions Register
Related Policies
Related Procedures	Employee Family and Domestic Violence Support Procedure Parental Leave Procedure
Related forms, publications and websites
Definitions	Terms defined in the Definitions Dictionary
	Academic Employee As defined in the University of Southern Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2023 - 2026....moreAs defined in the University of Southern Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2023 - 2026. Employee A person employed by the University and whose conditions of employment are covered by the Enterprise Agreement and includes persons employed on a continuing, fixed term or casual basis. Employees also include senior Employees whose conditions of employment are covered by a written agreement or contract with the University....moreA person employed by the University and whose conditions of employment are covered by the Enterprise Agreement and includes persons employed on a continuing, fixed term or casual basis. Employees also include senior Employees whose conditions of employment are covered by a written agreement or contract with the University. Enterprise Agreement University of Southern Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2023-2026....moreUniversity of Southern Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2023-2026. Family and Domestic Violence Family and Domestic Violence means violent, threatening or other abusive behaviour by certain individuals known to an Employee that both seeks to coerce or control the Employee, and causes them harm or fear....moreFamily and Domestic Violence means violent, threatening or other abusive behaviour by certain individuals known to an Employee that both seeks to coerce or control the Employee, and causes them harm or fear. Information Any collection of data that is processed, analysed, interpreted, organised, classified or communicated in order to serve a useful purpose, present facts or represent knowledge in any medium or form. This includes presentation in electronic (digital), print, audio, video, image, graphical, cartographic, physical sample, textual or numerical form....moreAny collection of data that is processed, analysed, interpreted, organised, classified or communicated in order to serve a useful purpose, present facts or represent knowledge in any medium or form. This includes presentation in electronic (digital), print, audio, video, image, graphical, cartographic, physical sample, textual or numerical form. Notice A Notice from the University is a document, whether physical or electronic. A Notice may be: given by hand to the addressee or delivered to the address provided by the addressee to the University; or sent by registered or pre-paid mail to the address provided by the addressee to the University; or sent by electronic communication to the University-issued email account provided by the Unive...moreA Notice from the University is a document, whether physical or electronic. A Notice may be: given by hand to the addressee or delivered to the address provided by the addressee to the University; or sent by registered or pre-paid mail to the address provided by the addressee to the University; or sent by electronic communication to the University-issued email account provided by the University to a Student during the period of Enrolment until the completion of their program; or sent by electronic communication to the email address provided to the University by an addressee not enrolled at the University. A Notice is taken to be received if: given by hand to the addressee or delivered to the address provided to the University by the addressee; or sent by registered or pre-paid mail - three University Business Days after the date of posting; or sent by electronic communication - at the time that would be the time of receipt under the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 or its succeeding legislation. A Notice that would be deemed to have been received out of business hours or on a non-University Business Day will instead be deemed received on the next University Business Day. Retention and Disposal Schedule A legal document issued by the Queensland State Archivist to authorise the disposal of public records, including University Records....moreA legal document issued by the Queensland State Archivist to authorise the disposal of public records, including University Records. University The term 'University' or 'UniSQ' means the University of Southern Queensland....moreThe term 'University' or 'UniSQ' means the University of Southern Queensland.
	Definitions that relate to this procedure only
Keywords
Record No	13/356PL