HR Policy – Hot Topics Philip Pearson Employee Relations Consultant Policy and Employee Relations Branch Human Resource Division

Hot Topics Outline for Today Commencement of Maternity Leave Temporary vs Permanent Resumption from Family Leave Excess Status – Addressing some Myths Carer’s Leave School Council Employment

Maternity Leave Maternity Leave and Vacation Periods The Policy An employee who is pregnant is required to absent herself from duty for the period commencing six weeks prior to the expected date of the child's birth until six weeks after the actual date of birth. An employee is permitted to attend for duty during any part of the required absence period provided that: she will be fit for duty for the relevant period (proof of which is to be by medical certificate supplied by the employee), and the attendance sought by the employee is at a time employees ordinarily attend for duty. Where an employee is permitted to attend for duty during part of the required absence period before the birth of the child any paid maternity leave commences from the first day of absence from duty.

Resumption from Family Leave Temporary vs Permanent Resumption (Family Leave) Case Study Aimee, has just had her first child and after using up her paid maternity leave and receiving the Federal Government parental leave payments sought to come back to work for a period. She has not been in contact with her base school as yet and has not provided any notification of an intention to return by 1 October. Aimee, applied for a short-term part-time vacancy at another school (term 1&2). Aimee is the successful candidate for the position and is due to commence the position at the start of the new school year. After the vacancy concludes Aimee is hoping to return onto family leave, before returning to her base school for the start of term 1 the following year. Is the resumption Temporary or Permanent?

Resumption from Family Leave Temporary Resumption “Where a principal cannot fill a fixed term vacancy of six weeks or more with a suitable qualified person, a temporary resumption for an employee currently on parental absence can be considered. A temporary resumption from parental absence should only be considered where all other avenues of employment have been exhausted, i.e. employees with priority status or a person who could be offered fixed term employment are not available.” (pg. 8, Parental Absence – Teaching Service Guide) If it’s not temporary, then it’s permanent! What else should you be aware of in this scenario? Temporary transfer policy applies Base school principal permission is required. If the base school principal approves the transfer, they are subsequently approving the permanent resumption from family leave. Notice of termination to the employee on fixed term family leave vacancy – minimum of ten weeks notice.

Excess Status Correcting some Myths There is no maximum period of excess for an employee! Excess status is just that, a status. Where an employee is identified as excess the focus is then on putting the employee in a position to be redeployed elsewhere in the Department. Where does the 6 months (ESC) and 12 months (Teachers) come from? Victorian Government Schools Agreement Clause 21(3)(d) –“Where it is unlikely that an employee who is excess to workplace requirements will be redeployed to a suitable position, other action, including retrenchment, may be considered. The general expectation is that retrenchment will not be considered unless redeployment and retraining opportunities have been explored for a period of longer than twelve months, or six months in respect of education support class employees, from the date the employee was declared excess.” What MUST a school do after the 6 months or 12 months? The Agreement, nor Policy requires any action by the school. Rather the principal may consider taking other action including retrenchment.

Carer’s Leave Carer’s Leave is available to an employee to care for an immediate family or household member who is sick or injured and requires the employee’s care or support or who requires care or support due to an unexpected emergency. Supporting Documentation: Applications for personal leave must be supported by a required document; i.e. a medical certificate or statutory declaration; Medical certificate’s for carer’s leave should be from the treating practitioner of the injured/ill immediate family or household member; Unpaid Carer’s Leave - National Employment Standards – Fair Work Act 2009: 2 days of unpaid carer’s leave permitted for each permissible occasion A permissible occasion is where: a member of the employee’s immediate family, or a member of the employee’s household, requires care or support because of: a personal illness, or personal injury, affecting the member; or an unexpected emergency affecting the member.

School Council Employees School Council Employment Their terms and conditions of employment are largely set out under Ministerial Order 200. Appointments to School Council Positions: Vacancies must be advertised and merit based selection principles applied for all school council appointments; Documentation confirming the appointment must be kept on the employee’s personnel file! School council employees are not employees of DET even if they are paid through eduPay central payroll If not in the education support structure then seek advice from the Policy and Employee Relations Branch.

Questions OVER TO YOU – Any Questions??