WORKPLACE RELATIONS ACT 1996 - SECT 245A Entitlement to cash out an amount of paid personal/carer's leave

This legislation has been repealed.

WORKPLACE RELATIONS ACT 1996 - SECT 245A

             (1)  This section applies to an employee if more than the protected amount of paid personal/carer's leave is credited to the employee.

             (2)  The employee is entitled to forgo an entitlement to take any or all of the amount of paid personal/carer's leave credited to the employee that exceeds the protected amount of paid personal/carer's leave if:

                     (a)  a provision in a workplace agreement binding the employee and the employer entitles the employee to forgo the entitlement to the amount of paid personal/carer's leave; and

                     (b)  the employee gives the employer a written election to forgo the amount of paid personal/carer's leave; and

                     (c)  a provision in a workplace agreement binding the employee and the employer entitles the employee to receive pay in lieu of the amount of paid personal/carer's leave at a rate that is no less than the rate that, at the time the election is made, is the employee's basic periodic rate of pay (expressed as an hourly rate); and

                     (d)  the employer authorises the employee to forgo the amount of paid personal/carer's leave.

Note:          If, under this section, an employee forgoes an entitlement to take an amount of paid personal/carer's leave, the employee's employer may deduct that amount from the amount of accrued paid personal/carer's leave credited to the employee.

             (3)  For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2), the protected amount of paid personal/carer's leave for the employee is 3 / 52 of the number of nominal hours worked by the employee for the employer during:

                     (a)  a continuous period of 12 months of service with the employer ending immediately before the day on which the employee makes an election under paragraph (2)(b); or

                     (b)  a sequence of periods totalling 12 months of service with the employer, the last of which ends immediately before the day on which the employee makes an election under paragraph (2)(b).

Note:          The protected amount of paid personal/carer's leave for an employee whose nominal hours worked for an employer each week over a continuous period of 12 months service with the employer are 38 hours would be 114 hours (which would be equivalent to 15 days of paid personal/carer's leave for that employee).

             (4)  An employer must not:

                     (a)  require an employee to forgo an entitlement to take an amount of paid personal/carer's leave; or

                     (b)  exert undue influence or undue pressure on an employee in relation to the making of a decision by the employee whether or not to forgo an entitlement to take an amount of paid personal/carer's leave.

             (5)  If, under this section, an employee forgoes an entitlement to take an amount of paid personal/carer's leave, the employer must, within a reasonable period, give the employee the amount of pay that the employee is entitled to receive in lieu of the amount of paid personal/carer's leave.