roaringmouse

It's all very well talking about the amount of annual leave allowed, but it has also been well publicised that Australians don't take their full allowance and it rolls over to the next year. I remember reading a news article last year, during the doom & gloom months, talking about this, and it being a liability for employers.

There does seem to be that although you can have 4 weeks annual leave in Australia, in many cases it's not expected that you take it - hence the ability to "sell back" 2 of those weeks to your employer. Also the ability to roll over leave year after year doesn't help with people not taking leave, as if they lose it after a period they're more likely to take the leave.

bcworld

I've found it quite common to hear of people accumulating a lot of annual leave and then being forced to take it.

It's actually just happened to my OH who has just had to take 4 weeks off! Unfortunately the only leave I've had during that time was the Easter public holidays...and my leave balance was negative anyway due to having to take time off over Xmas due to office shutdown.

Is anyone else thinking I should be looking for a new job?

ABCDiamond

Annual Leave:
Employers must generally give all permanent full-time employees at least:

4 weeks paid annual leave (5 weeks for shift workers)
10 days paid personal/carer’s leave per year
2 days unpaid carer’s leave (when needed)
2 days paid compassionate leave (when needed)
12 months unpaid parental leave.

Annual leave and paid personal/carer’s leave accumulates over time.

Public Holiday Working:
The Retail Award for example states:
Work on a public holiday must be compensated by either:
(i) payment at the rate of an additional 150%;

ozzieeagle

Thats exactly what I get at the Post Office 25 days, plus Public holidays, although the 5 extra days are because of working night shift. Also everyone that has worked 10 years gets another 13 weeks of Long Service leave which become accruable at 9 days per year from the 10th year.

Re the 37 hours, its actually 37.5 for us. Thing is we do have to agree to do mandatory overtime, which is paid at time and a half or double time on weekends.

The Average week over the course of the year would probably be 42 hours per week..... Thats including probably 3 weeks of 55 hours around Xmas time.

At least 50 pct of the people I know personally are entitled to that long service component of leave. So those are entitled to around 30 days per year or 35 for night shift workers, plus public holidays.


At the end of the day, this is another one of those things, where it depends on how "established" one is.

IndieG

Thanks....I had a near perfect work-life balance in Dubai. But some of it also had to do with my bosses. In my 15 year career in Dubai, I've had fantastic bosses (except for one who expected me to put in long hours, but he lasted 3 months, I got rid of him pretty quickly by getting a transfer

I could never dream of those kind of working conditions (working hours, leave and salary) here!

HelenTD

This sounds quite generous. Where my OH works, he gets:
4 weeks paid annual leave, which can accumulate from one year to another
10 days paid sick/carer's leave each year, cannot be accumulated
long service leave after 10 years
(don't know about maternity leave)

If you need to travel to the UK or other long distances, there is a tendency to save up leave for the big trip. It's handy when sick/carer's leave can be accumulated. Some workers make sure they use all theirs up, giving themselves an extra 2 weeks leave a year, even if they're not sick. Mind you, if I had a job I hated, I'd probably do that too.

BadgeIsBack

Agreed. I find it is about the same, probably less. I've never worked one weekend in 6 years, and we all get sent home if we do too many hours. People take their evenings and weekends very seriously.

Every time I work against a set timetable or budget, there has never been an issue with blowing a budget or even being late as long as you report. In my industry it has always been about learning and getting better at estimating.

Unless you're in a crap job and am getting stiffed, that's the real issue.

ABCDiamond

I think most workers do that; even Bob Hawke, the Prime Minister not that long ago, was of the view that sick leave is OK for the odd extra day off.

The figures that I showed above are now the Federal government minimums, effective from 1st January this year. Some employers may need to be reminded of the changes.

My wife has now accumulated over 5 months leave, so a big holiday may be in the planning

bcworld

Where I struggle with the concept of the holiday sickie is that Australian companies I have worked for have had far stricter policies regarding how sickness is certified than anything I experienced in the UK.

One place required a doctors note for any absence on a Monday, Friday, days adjacent to a public holiday or any day at all after 2 days sickness had been taken in a year! My last employer in the UK allowed self certification for 7 consecutive business days!

Deancm

That's very common place in Australia.

ABCDiamond

Here, it is easier to get to see the doctor to get a certificate, than it is (or was when I was last there) so maybe that has played some part in the changes.

Some employers may be fed up with people getting sick the day before or after a long weekend public holiday. Can't say I blame them.

The UK legal rule is "Your employees can self-certify sickness periods of up to seven days."

Here, an employer is entitled to ask for a certificate for any day off, if they wish. According to a news report, about 80% of companies do NOT ask for certificates for the days either side of a public holiday, so it isn't that common, even though sick rates rise by about 33% on days following Australia Day, Anzac day etc.

Deancm

I would have to question that. As a recruiter I get to read lots and lots of employment contracts from various organisations. And nine times out of ten there is a clause that states they expect sick notes for before and after public holidays and weekends.

ABCDiamond

There may clauses in the contracts, but how many employers follow all clauses ?

Many sample contract templates include this, and may be used by employers who prefer a standard contract, rather than make one themselves.

They may be a bit laid back about enforcing some terms, sometimes, and for some people, but use the clauses as and when really required. ?

bcworld

In my experience...anyone who regularly uses their sick/personal leave for odd days here and there usually finds themselves having the contractual rules rigidly applied. As you say...I don't blame employers for that either.

ABCDiamond

I'll agree with that