Annual Leave and Statutory
Days
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How
much Leave do I have? Sworn
members are entitled to twenty days annual leave, all 11 statutory
holidays, and 2 Commissioners holidays each year.
Non-sworn
members are
entitled to twenty days annual leave, all 11 statutory holidays, and 3
Commissioners holidays each year. When
should I take my Annual Leave? Members are generally expected to take most of their annual leave within 12 months of accruing the leave. However, annual leave can be accumulated, especially for a specific reason or event. Members should show when they plan to take this leave on their leave plan (see below). A maximum of 66 days can be accrued without approval. The accumulation of any further annual leave days must be approved by the Commissioner. What
is a Leave Plan? Members should have a leave plan which covers their particular leave year. Each member has their own ‘leave year’, which starts from their anniversary date of joining Police. The Leave plan should:
Members should be able to change their leave plans due to changed circumstances. You
need to co-operate in forming a leave plan for yourself.
This is a lawful and reasonable requirement.
It will also help you take annual leave at the times you want to
take it. Refusing to help put
together a leave plan for yourself puts you at risk of being seen to
frustrate your employer’s expressed desire to give you a reasonable
opportunity to take annual leave. Ultimately,
this could leave you in the position of being unable to resist any
direction to take leave. The
key consideration is reasonableness from Police and members. Can Police direct me to take Annual Leave? Members may be directed to take leave where they have an entitlement in excess of 33 days. Any direction given to a member to take annual leave should be as a last resort. Managers must have met with members to discuss leave first and agree on when the leave will be taken. Again, reasonableness must apply and a direction should only be given when agreement is not reached. In most cases an agreed leave plan should be created without the need for a direction to take leave. If a member agrees to a leave plan and fails to take that leave, and provided there are no reasons why the leave could not have been taken, the leave can be forfeited (if leave was originally in excess of 33 days). You
cannot be forced to take leave prior to being entitled to it.
Leave being accrued during your leave year is not leave you are
automatically entitled to. In
contrast, leave which comes to you at the end of your leave year is leave
you are entitled to. For example, if you were entitled to 45 days annual leave, as
at 1 October 2000, your leave entitlement does not increase by allotted 33
days until 1 October 2001. Ideally,
TOIL and DDO’s should be taken in the next roster cycle.
However, in reality these leave types can accumulate.
TOIL and DDO’s must be taken before any annual leave. Standby, On-call and Annual LeaveMembers
should not be placed on standby while they are on annual leave.
The purpose of annual leave is to offer members a break from work
for rest and recreation. Putting
members on standby defeats the purpose of annual leave as member’s
movements and activities are restricted.
For example, they would not be able to drink alcohol, go camping,
go tramping or travel and would not be free to enjoy the rest and
recreation intended by the Holidays Act. What
happens when I work on a Statutory Holiday? Members accrue public holidays as they fall and Police, like any other employer, have the right to determine what their operational requirements are on public holidays. Therefore, Police may tell members whether or not they are required to work on a public holiday. Statutory holidays and Commissioners holidays should not be worked by a member, unless they are rostered to work on those days or when operational circumstances require members to do so. Rostered shift workers should have no change to their roster. Those who work Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.00pm should not be required to work on public holidays. Police need to give 14 days notice of whether a member is needed on the public holiday. Members who work on any part of a public holiday are entitled to: 1) be paid at the rate of time and a half, and 2) an alternative holiday When are the Statutory Holidays? Statutory Holidays are the following days:
Commissioner’s Holidays fall between Christmas and New Year and are allocated as whole days when they fall, for example Christmas Day and Boxing Day. If they are taken as ‘statutory holidays’ at the time, they are deducted from the members leave record, however, if untaken they accumulate as whole 'days off in lieu’ and remain owing until taken. Sworn members receive two days of Commissioners Holidays and Non-sworn members received three days of Commissioners Holidays. What
happens if I become ill while on leave? If you become sick while on annual or shift leave, you should notify your manager immediately and obtain a medical certificate for the period you are sick. This way your leave will be counted as sick leave rather than annual or shift leave. Statutory holidays and Commissioner's Holidays cannot be changed to sick leave. |