LEAVE ENTITLEMENTS – SICK LEAVE & COMPASSIONATE LEAVE

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Posted January 8, 2018

It is incredibly unfortunate for any staff member if they need to take either a short or longer stint of personal or compassionate leave. This is always a very trying time for the staff member in question, not of least being the financial worries that can come along with this kind of leave. The hard reality is that for salon owners, sick and compassionate leave can also be a major cause of stress, as it leaves your salon one member down, unable to serve your clients while you continue to pay. It’s important to know the exact in’s and out’s of what you are required to do for your staff to ensure that at the most difficult of times, you are still looking after the best interests of your salon.

 

PERSONAL / SICK LEAVE

An employee may take personal (sick) leave if they are unfit for work due to personal illness or injury. All employees must provide evidence of illness to qualify for sick leave, no matter how short it may be, unless stated otherwise in your salon’s policy and procedures manual.

Evidence may come in the form of a medical certificate or statutory declaration. If the employee cannot provide evidence that would convince any reasonable person that they were unfit or unable to attend work, they are not entitled to personal leave and the day must instead be taken as unpaid leave or if you wish from their accrued annual leave.

 

CARERS LEAVE

An employee may take, and is entitled to, carers leave if the leave is taken to provide care or support to a member of their immediate family (as defined above), or a member of their household who requires care because of:

• Life-threatening personal illness or injury affecting the family or household member
• An unexpected emergency affecting the family or household member.

 

All employees must provide evidence of illness to qualify for carers leave, and employers can request this evidence at any time. Evidence may come in the form of a medical certificate or diagnosis letter, and if the employee can not provide evidence that would convince any reasonable person that they were required for carers leave they are not entitled to carer’s leave and the day must instead be taken as unpaid leave or if you wish from their accrued annual leave.

 

For BOTH sick leave and carers leave, the employee accrues leave at half the rate of annual leave.

 

 

COMPASSIONATE LEAVE

All employees (whether they are permanent, part-time or casual) are entitled to two days of paid compassionate leave to spend with their immediate family member or member of their household. Compassionate leave may also be granted after the death of a member of the employee’s immediate family or household.

 

Compassionate leave cannot be accrued, it can only be granted under particular circumstances as outlined above, and does not get paid out on termination. Employees should provide evidence for the need for compassionate leave, which may come in the form of a medical certificate or death certificate. If the employee cannot provide evidence that would convince any reasonable person that there was a need for compassionate leave, then the day taken must be taken as unpaid leave or from their accrued annual leave.

 

For carer’s and compassionate leave, an employee’s immediate family is defined as being either

• A spouse
• De-facto partner
• Child
• Child of their spouse
• Parent of the employee
• Parent of their spouse
• Grandparent of the employee
• Grandparent of their spouse
• Grandchild
• Grandchild of the spouse
• Sibling or
• Sibling of their spouse

 

We completely appreciate that keeping track of all these different leave types can be difficult for salon owners. That’s why we created HABA Payroll. Amongst other things, like paying your staff absolutely to the letter of the Hair and Beauty Award 2010, HABA Payroll manages the correct payment of leave for your staff, no matter what kind of leave it is or how difficult it may seem. So save yourself the headache and get HABA Payroll for your salon today.