Many often ask what is ‘personal leave meaning.’ This is an important concept in employment law, and all workers should be aware of personal leave meaning. It is an essential entitlement, especially for employees who need a break from work or who have to attend to personal matters.
Employment law can be complex and difficult to understand. Moreover, because each business functions differently, there can be many discrepancies when it comes to definitions and laws. At most workplaces, workers have annual leave entitlements.
Generally, this is in addition to the annual leave that the company provides them. Personal leave meaning is that it is a leave of absence. Annual leave is accrued based on the ordinary hours for which a person works.
The National Employment Standards (NES) provides an outline of 11 entitlements for employees in Australia. It also states that personal leave can include either sick or carer’s leave. Carer’s leave includes a person’s leave to look after an immediate family member.
In this blog, we will go over ‘personal leave meaning’ and explore the types of personal leaves a person can take according to the NES.
Personal Leave Meaning: Types of Personal or Carer’s Leave
Sick Leave
As was briefly stated above, workers who are ill or wounded may use sick leaves or time offs. It’s also critical to remember that the NES guarantees both paid and unpaid personal leave.
A worker is entitled to compensated sick leave for conditions such as stress and pregnancy. These may result in personal illnesses that need time away from the workplace.
Notably, all workers except casual workers can generally avail of sick leaves. Who are casual employees? What is the difference between casual and part-time employment? To read more on this topic, check out this blog. However, according to the entitlements listed under the NES, casual workers can still get unpaid sick leave or unpaid carer’s leave.
Carer’s Leave
As part of personal leave meaning, it is important to know about the carer’s leave entitlement for employees. You can take some time off from work to care for members of your immediate family or the people in your home with your caregiver’s leave. On the Fair Work Ombudsman’s website, the following are considered members of the immediate family or household:
- De facto partner or former de facto partner
- Spouse or former spouse
- Parent
- Grandparent
- Child
- Sibling, or
- Parent, grandparent, child, or sibling of the employee’s spouse or de facto partner (or former spouse or de facto partner)
An important question that comes up when discussing personal leave meaning is: are carer’s leaves the same as compassionate leaves? We’ll discuss this point in the section below.
Personal Leave Meaning: Carer’s Leave Versus Compassionate Leave
Quite like a carer’s leave, an employee can use a compassionate leave (or bereavement leave) if their immediate family member or household member dies or contracts a serious life-threatening illness or disease.
Moreover, full-time and part-time workers also avail of paid compassionate leave. While in most scenarios, casual workers are entitled to receive unpaid compassionate leave.
Other Leaves and Entitlements
Apart from paid personal leave and leaves that fall under “personal leave meaning” there are some unpaid leaves also that people can take. These include:
- Annual
- Family
- Domestic violence
- Parental leaves.
If a party has paid annual leave accumulated, they can take that instead of their unpaid parental leave. But generally, you cannot take a paid sick or carer’s (personal) leave during an unpaid parental leave.
Parental leave is in place to support working parents during:
- Childbirth
- Adoption
- When their children are very young.
It enables parents to have a healthy work and personal life balance without having to sacrifice their roles and duties as a professional or a parent.
Moreover, all employees are also entitled to receive unpaid family and domestic violence (FDV) leave of up to 5 days each year. This entitlement is also under the National Employment Standards.
Furthermore, this leave can be applicable if a close relative is coercing an employee. A close relative can include the spouse, de facto partner, former partner, child or parent, etc.
In general, the policies of the company may also affect the number of leaves and compensation entitlements. The employment contract contains information on them. It is noteworthy that the entitlements of the NES will take precedence over the policies of individual firms.
For example, if an employee is entitled to five (5) unpaid leave days under the NES for FDV leave, but their company only pays for three (3) of those days, the individual will ultimately receive the five (5) leave days.
Utilise the Leave Calculator
Find out the amount of leave you are entitled to by using the online leave calculator. The calculator will work out your:
- Annual leave
- Annual leave loading
- Sick and carer’s leave.
Your leave entitlement can be calculated based on either your award or the National Employment Standards (NES). If you are employed under a registered agreement, please refrain from using this calculator.
This tool utilises the Fair Work Ombudsman‘s recommended approach for leave calculations. It is available for both employees and employers to use.
Importance of Seeking Advice from Employment Lawyers
Some employers frequently take advantage of their workers since they might not be aware of their rights for sick leaves or time off from their work. Whether you are a full-time employee, temporary worker, or part-time worker, you should still familiarise yourself with all of your rights.
Your entitlements can differ depending on the industry you work for and the capacity in which you work for an employer. Employment lawyers are experts in employment law matters such as leave entitlements and can help you if you face any issues with your employer.
Moreover, businesses and individuals who employ people may also require legal advice for some matters. For any such issues, do not hesitate to contact our firm’s team of employment lawyers.
If you wish to gain more information on other topics, check out our blog page on the website. In case you have an enquiry about paid personal carer’s leave, contact our team today.
