Leave Arrangements for Work/Family/Personal Life Balance

Annual Leave is accumulated at 20 working days each year, or pro rata if you are employed on a part time fraction. The leave accrued is printed on staff payslips each fortnight enabling staff to keep record of their Annual Leave entitlements. Leave accrued is printed in hours and can be converted to the relevant day entitlement of 7.35 hours per day for General staff and Trades and Services staff or 7.6 hours per day for TAFE Teaching staff, and Academic staff.

Public Holidays which fall within the requested period of leave are not deducted from the staff member's leave balance.

If staff members are sick while on Annual Leave they can have their leave reimbursed, and deducted from their Sick Leave accrual. Academic or General Staff must be sick for three or more consecutive days, and TAFE Teaching Staff must be sick for at least five consecutive days in order to have their leave reinstated. This request for amendment must be accompanied by a Medical Certificate.

Leave Forms must be submitted and approved PRIOR to leave being taken.

Part-time General Staff on annualised hours, refer to the section on Flexible Working Hours for additional information on Annual Leave.

General and Academic staff on the 48/52 week year system, refer to the section on Purchase of Additional Leave - 48/52 Week Year.

Leave provisions relating to annual leave are outlined in the Collective Agreement for Academic and General Staff or in their Australian Workplace Agreement.

For those staff on Australian Workplace Agreements annual leave entitlements are the same as those stipulated in the Collective Agreement.

Staff are encouraged to take their Annual Leave entitlements each year to help promote a healthier workplace and enable staff to work to their best potential.

Staff members with leave accruals of more than eight weeks, (pro rata for part-time staff) may be directed by the Head of School, Director, Vice President, Deputy Vice-Chancellor or Vice-Chancellor to take up to one quarter of that leave (two weeks). These dates should be negotiated and agreement should be reached. If no agreement is reached, the University may specify the dates that leave is to be taken and the employee must take the leave accordingly.

Teachers should plan to take their 20 days annual leave, documenting the nominated days of leave their annual workplan at the commencement of each year.

Please note that these entitlements may vary depending on the negotiated terms of your Australian Workplace Agreement.

• Fully understand your annual leave entitlements and options.
• See links below and/or discuss your situation and plans confidentially with Human Resources (Richelle Brehaut, Human Resources Co-ordinator, x9367 or r.brehaut@ballarat.edu.au) and/or with your Supervisor.
• Complete and submit a Leave Absentee Form.

Links to detailed information on leave entitlements and conditions relevant to Annual Leave for different staff categories:

Annual Leave - Academic & General Staff
University of Ballarat - Union Collective Agreement 2006 -2008 Academic & General Staff
Link to: Clause 50

Annual Leave - TAFE Teaching Staff
TAFE Teachers' Conditions of Employment (Victoria) Award 2002
Link to:Clause 21

Annual Leave Loading - TAFE Teaching Staff
Victorian TAFE Teaching Staff, Multi-Employer Certified Agreement, 2003
Link to:Clause 19.26

Personal Leave - TAFE Teaching Staff
TAFE Teachers' Conditions of Employment (Victoria) Award 2002
Link to:Clause 22.3

Annual Leave - Academic & General Staff
University of Ballarat - Union Collective Agreement 2006 -2008 Academic & General Staff
Clause 50 Annual Leave

50. ANNUAL LEAVE

50.1 An employee is entitled to annual leave at the rate of twenty working days on full pay for each completed year of service. For University purposes, annual leave will be recorded in hours. The annual leave entitlement for full-time academic employees is 152 hours, and for full-time general staff employees it is 147 hours. Part-time employees will accumulate an annual leave entitlement pro rata to the full-time entitlement according to their fraction.

50.2 Employees are encouraged to take annual leave to promote a healthier workplace. Prior to taking leave, each employee is responsible for obtaining approval to take their leave, and for regularly taking their leave. Managers are to ensure that leave is taken at a mutually convenient time that meets the operational requirements of the University and the needs of the employee where reasonably possible, provided that, subject to agreement on the timing of the taking of leave as per this subclause, the employee shall be entitled to take up to twenty working days annual leave as a single continuous period.

50.3 Where a public holiday occurs during the period of annual leave and such holiday is observed by the University, no deduction will be made for that day from the employee's annual leave.

50.4 If an employee has accrued and had credited annual leave of more than one thirteenth of the number of nominal hours worked by them during any period of one hundred and four weeks, then the University may direct that employee to take up to one quarter of the amount of that employee's credited leave.

For a full-time employee sub-clause 50.4 means that, of an outstanding eight week entitlement, the employee may be directed by the University to take up to two weeks leave at that time. If the situation in this sub-clause arises, the manager and the employee must discuss dates for the taking of leave by agreement. If no agreement is reached, the manager may specify the dates that leave is to be taken and the employee must take leave accordingly. To avoid doubt, the employee will be regarded as being on leave for that period, and their leave credits will be reduced accordingly.

50.5 Annual Leave upon Termination of Employment
Where an employee resigns or retires or is dismissed or otherwise terminated from employment, the employee will receive payment in lieu of annual leave accrued but not taken, provided that, in the event of termination of employment due to the employee's death, such payment shall be made to the legal representative of the employee. In all instances, payment in lieu shall be for all annual leave accrued for each completed year of service plus a pro rata amount for the current year of service calculated on a daily basis.

50.6 Sick Leave and Annual Leave
Where an employee with accrued sick leave credits is ill for three or more consecutive working days whilst absent on annual leave, the employee shall, provided that a certificate from a registered medical practitioner is submitted for the period of illness, be placed on sick leave and no deduction will be made from annual leave credits for the days in question.

51. ANNUAL LEAVE LOADING
Employees (other than casual employees) will be entitled to payment of an annual leave loading equal to 17.5% of four weeks' salary in December each year, subject to a maximum payment equal to the Commonwealth Statistician's average weekly total earnings of all males (Australia) for the preceding September quarter.

Provided that an employee with less than twelve months' service at 31 December (having commenced employment after 1 January, or having terminated employment during the year), will receive a pro-rata payment on the basis of completed months of service.

Note: The date set by agreement is the first pay day in December

21.1 An employee shall be entitled to twenty days annual leave for each twelve month period of continuous service, or on a pro rata basis for any period of service which is less than twelve months.

21.2 Annual leave shall accrue from the date of commencement at the rate of 1.67 days for each completed month of service.

21.3 Annual leave shall be taken within fifteen months of being accrued unless otherwise agreed by the employee and the employer.

[21.4 substituted by PR969417 ppc 07Mar06]

21.4 Annual leave, including leave taken in excess of the leave credits accrued, shall be taken at a mutually agreeable time having regard to the operation of the employer, provided that a request for leave including a request for leave of four weeks duration or for single day absences not exceeding, in aggregate, 10 days per annum, shall not be unreasonably refused.

21.5 Annual leave not taken in accordance with 21.3 shall be paid in full to the employee upon expiration of the employee's employment.

21.6 Notwithstanding 21.1 and 21.2, if an employee's employment is terminated and that employee has taken more paid annual leave than would have been accrued at the rate of twenty days per year, the employer may recoup the amount of paid annual leave in excess of the leave accrued.

19.26. An annual leave loading of 17.5% of 4 weeks ordinary time earnings will be paid to full-time teachers.

19.27. Teachers who are employed on a part-time basis and/or for less than a full calendar year are entitled to pro-rata application of this clause.

19.28. The loading shall be paid in the last pay in August of each year, or such other date as may be agreed between the Union and the Employer at each Institute, in respect of the calendar year 1 July to 30 June.

19.29. Upon termination of employment with the Employer an Employee will be paid the annual leave loading on a pro-rata basis.

Note: The date set by agreement is the first pay day in December

Personal Leave - TAFE Teaching Staff
TAFE Teachers' Conditions of Employment (Victoria) Award 2002 Clause 22.3

Where an employee with accrued personal leave credits becomes ill for not less than five consecutive days while on long service leave or annual leave, on provision of a medical certificate from a registered medical practitioner, the employee shall be entitled to be placed on personal leave in accordance with this clause and no deduction shall be made from the employee's long service leave or annual leave credits for the days in question.

Please note the 'award provisions/entitlements' above do not apply to casual or sessional staff members.