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The General Staff Union
UTS Enterprise Bargaining
UTS Enterprise Bargaining
September 16, 2009
| Proposed General Staff Clauses Tabled by CPSU |
25. SICK LEAVE Show...
| Eligibility and entitlement | ||
| 25.1 | All continuing and fixed-term staff are entitled to paid sick leave. For full-time staff, sick leave accrues at the rate of 15 days per calendar year of service. For staff starting work during the year and staff appointed for a fixed-term period of twelve months or less, the entitlement accrues for each full month remaining in that year. This entitlement accumulates with each calendar year of service and is reduced by any sick leave taken. | |
| 25.2 |
If unable to attend work through illness, staff should notify their supervisor within 24 hours of normal commencement of duty, stating the incapacity and likely length of absence. A medical certificate or statutory declaration is required when a staff member takes four or more consecutive days of sick leave. |
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| 25.3 |
Staff may access their sick leave in the form of personal leave to provide care for sick relatives or household members or for bereavement due to the death of a relative or household member, in accordance with the provisions for Personal Leave (refer to sub-clause 26). |
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| Sickness during annual and long service leave |
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| 25.4 |
A staff member who becomes ill for a period of five consecutive working days during annual or long service leave may claim sick leave (to the extent of sick leave accrued) instead of the annual or long service leave for the period of the illness. A medical certificate must be submitted covering the period of the sick leave. |
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| Sick leave without pay |
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| 25.5 |
At the discretion of the University, a staff member whose sick leave entitlement has been exhausted may be granted sick leave without pay (SLWOP). A period of sick leave without pay must be covered by an appropriate medical certificate. SLWOP will be counted as service for the purposes of determining entitlements to: |
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| (a) |
annual leave accrual; |
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| (b) |
long service leave accrual (except that when determining whether a staff member has completed ten years' service, SLWOP does not count as service if when aggregated it is in excess of six months. The aggregated SLWOP of up to six months does count as service and any aggregated SLWOP over six months does not. Once it has been determined that a staff member has completed ten years service, any single period of sick leave without pay not exceeding six months will continue to count as service); |
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| (c) |
the accrual of further sick leave; |
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| (d) |
personal leave; and |
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| (e) |
eligibility for financial assistance for study at UTS. |
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| 25.6 |
For the purposes of incremental progression a staff member who is: |
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| (a) |
absent from duty on unpaid sick leave of six months or less during the twelve month Performance Review and Development cycle applicable to a UID - performance for the purpose of incremental progression will be assessed on the basis of their performance during the period of duty during the Performance Review and Development cycle; |
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| (b) |
absent from duty on unpaid sick leave of more than six months during the twelve month Performance Review and Development cycle applicable to a UID – the staff member will not be eligible for consideration for incremental progression until the following year. |
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| Special sick leave |
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| 25.7 |
Up to 20 days paid special sick leave may be granted by the Director, Human Resources to a staff member who is terminally or critically ill and on an extended period of leave. Special sick leave may only be granted when normal sick leave and other entitlements have been exhausted, and will be applied fairly and equitably for all staff. |
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| Requirement to submit application |
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| 25.8 |
All staff are required to promptly complete and submit leave application in respect of any absence on sick leave. |
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| Comment (Members Only Please) | ||
26. PERSONAL LEAVE Show...
| 26.1 | For the purposes of this Clause, ‘relative’ is defined as follows: | |
| (a) | spouse, former spouse, a de facto spouse, or former de facto spouse (de facto spouse includes partners of the same sex); or | |
| (b) | child or adult child (including adopted child, step child, ward or ex nuptial child), parent (including step-parent), grandparent, grandchild or sibling (including step- or half-sibling) of the staff member or staff member's spouse as defined in (a) above. | |
| There may be definitions of ‘relative’ which are not included here but due to wider kinship and family networks of many cultures would be considered appropriate under this Clause. | ||
| Principles | ||
| 26.2 | Personal leave may be granted to assist staff to achieve a work life balance. Personal leave acknowledges that staff of the University are also members of families and communities and have commitments not related to work. In addition to the personal leave available in accordance with this Clause, staff may use available annual leave or long service leave, or leave without pay for personal reasons. The University expects supervisors to be sensitive and flexible in making arrangements for staff members to attend to personal matters. | |
| Entitlement | ||
| 26.3 | A staff member may be granted up to ten days personal leave with pay per calendar year under circumstances including the following: | |
| (a) | to provide care or support to relatives or members of their household who are ill or injured; | |
| (b) | bereavement due to the death of a relative or household member; | |
| (c) | to deal with an emergency situation arising due to fire, flood, burglary or other unforeseen event beyond the control of the staff member; | |
| (d) | where the carer of a staff member’s child is unable to look after the child; | |
| (e) | attendance at the staff member’s own graduation, citizenship and justice of the peace ceremony (normally expected to be up to half a day for each ceremony); | |
| (f) | moving house (normally expected to be up to one day per twelve months); | |
| (g) | appointments and commitments associated with pre and post natal responsibilities; or |
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| (h) | to adhere to and celebrate cultural or religious days of observance. | |
| 26.4 | Personal leave is not cumulative. | |
| 26.5 | In addition to an entitlement to personal leave, a staff member is entitled to access his/her sick leave accrued from 24 October 1995 for leave to provide care or support to relatives or members of their household who are ill (ie sub-clause 26.3(a) above) or for bereavement due to the death of a relative or household member (ie sub-clause 26.3(b) above). | |
| 26.6 | Staff who have exhausted their personal leave and sick leave entitlements may apply for any available annual leave and/or long service leave or leave without pay to cover the necessary period of absence. In exceptional circumstances such as multiple deaths within a family and/or household in a twelve month period, additional paid personal leave may be granted by the Director, Human Resources. | |
| Comment (Members Only Please) | ||
27. LONG SERVICE LEAVE Show...
| Principles |
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| 27.1 |
Long service leave is an entitlement that recognises length of service to the University. Once staff become eligible to take long service leave, they are encouraged to take periods of long service leave during their employment. Staff and supervisors will discuss staff members’ long service leave plans in the context of annual work plans. |
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| Eligibility and entitlement |
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| 27.2 |
A full-time staff member is entitled to long service leave at the rate of 44 working days long service leave on full pay on the completion of ten years service. After the initial ten years service, long service leave accrues at the rate of eleven working days for each completed year of service and pro-rata for less than a completed year of service. Long service leave may be taken on half pay. A staff member may take any long service leave at a time of his/her choosing if the staff member provides a minimum of six month’s written notice. If the staff member provides less than six month’s written notice, the University will grant the leave except where there are compelling operational reasons not to grant the leave at the requested time. Where leave cannot be granted on the basis of the initial request an acceptable alternative time for the taking of long service leave will be agreed between the staff member and the University. |
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| 27.3 |
Casual staff are entitled to pro-rata accrual of the full-time rate of long service leave for continuous service from 9 May 1985. Pro-rata accrual will be determined on the basis of the hours worked by the casual staff member. Breaks in service of two months or more will break continuity of service. Casual staff who are eligible for long service leave will be entitled to take their leave on the average rate of pay earned by the casual in the five years preceding the date on which long service leave is to commence. |
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| Effect of leave without pay |
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| 27.4 |
Periods of leave without pay (except sick leave without pay, which, when aggregated, does not exceed six months) are not counted as service for the purpose of long service leave. |
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| Pro-rata long service leave |
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| 27.5 |
Staff who have completed between five and ten years of service are entitled to payment for long service leave on a pro-rata basis in the following circumstances: |
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| (a) |
upon termination of employment for any reason other than misconduct (eg death, medical retirement or redundancy); |
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| (b) |
upon the expiry of a fixed-term contract, as provided for in sub-clause XX; |
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| (c) |
upon resignation on account of illness, incapacity or domestic or other pressing necessity; or |
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| (d) |
upon retirement at or after age 60 or at such retirement age in accordance with the provisions of the relevant superannuation scheme. |
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| Except for (b) above, this sub-clause will be interpreted in the same manner as the similar provision within the NSW Long Service Leave Act 1955, as amended. | ||
| Recognition of prior service with another institution |
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| 27.6 |
Service for full-time or part-time staff commencing on or after 26 January 1988 (date of establishment of UTS) means full-time or part-time service (whether continuous or broken) as a staff member at UTS and/or continuous full-time or part-time service with other Australian higher education institutions (includes Universities and CAEs, does not include TAFE). |
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| 27.7 |
For the purposes of sub-clause 27.6 above continuous service is deemed to be where the period between ceasing with one employer and commencing with the next is not greater than two months. This intervening period is not counted as service. |
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| 27.8 |
Notwithstanding sub-clause 27.6 above, if a staff member has taken long service leave or is eligible to be paid or has been paid in lieu of long service leave by the releasing institution or any other institution, the staff member will not accrue any entitlement to leave for the period of service with the releasing institution for which leave has been taken, paid or for which there is eligibility for payment, but subject to this sub-clause such a period shall be included as qualifying service for determining when the staff member is next eligible to take long service leave. |
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| Comment (Members Only Please) | ||
29. PARENTAL LEAVE Show...
| Definition | ||
| For the purposes of this Clause 'partner' includes same sex partners. | ||
| Principles | ||
| 29.1 | Parental leave enables parents employed at UTS to care for their child (biological, adopted or foster). Parental leave incorporates maternity, adoption, partner's and foster parent’s leave. |
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| Eligibility for parental leave | ||
| 29.2 | All full-time and part-time staff employed on a continuing or fixed-term basis may be eligible for parental leave. Casual staff may also be eligible for unpaid parental leave in accordance with sub-clauses 29.15-29.17. |
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| 29.3 | A fixed-term staff member will only be granted paid and/or unpaid parental leave if the period of leave falls within the time span of their fixed-term appointment. If the fixed-term staff member is subsequently offered another appointment, he or she may extend into the period of the new appointment the date for return from leave. |
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| Basic entitlement | ||
| 29.4 | Staff are entitled to up to 104 weeks’ unpaid parental leave from the date of birth or taking custody of the child after completion of 40 weeks continuous service. |
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| Paid parental leave - maternity and adoption |
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| 29.5 |
To be eligible for paid parental leave, the primary carer must have completed 40 weeks’ continuous service prior to the expected date of birth or adoption of the child. Unless there is a break in service this qualifying period need only be served once. |
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| 29.6 |
The paid parental leave entitlement comprises: |
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| (a) |
up to 26 weeks leave on full pay which may be taken as 52 weeks on half pay or a mix of full and half pay to commence no later than the date of birth or adoption of the child; |
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| (b) |
up to 30 days paid leave for phased return to work. All or part of the equivalent value of this leave (calculated at the salary rate applicable at the date of return from parental leave) may be used for professional and career development projects. |
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| 29.7 |
If both parents are UTS staff they may share the paid parental leave provided that both staff have completed the 40-week qualifying period prior to the expected date of birth or adoption of the child. However, the partner’s entitlement to parental leave will be reduced by any paid partner’s leave taken at the time of the birth or adoption of the child. |
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| Unpaid parental leave |
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| 29.8 |
A primary carer is entitled to a grant of up to 104 weeks unpaid parental leave from the date of birth or date of placement of her/his child. Provided that any such unpaid maternity or adoption leave must not extend beyond the child's second birthday or 104 weeks from the placement of the child and must not overlap with any period of leave (other than paid partner’s leave) as specified in the relevant statutory declaration. |
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| Cessation of pregnancy |
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| 29.9 |
In the event of a still birth or miscarriage after the commencement of parental leave, the staff member may access their personal, sick, annual, long service leave and/or leave without pay for such period as a registered medical practitioner certifies as necessary. A staff member’s illness not related to the direct consequences of the birth will be dealt with in accordance with Clause XX [Sick Leave]. |
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| Partner's leave |
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| 29.10 |
A staff member is entitled to a period of up to 20 working days paid leave (paid partner’s leave), which may be taken at any time in the three-month period following the birth of a child of his/her partner or on taking custody of a child. |
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| Grandparent leave |
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| 29.11 |
A staff member is entitled to a period of 20 working days leave (paid grandparent leave) to undertake the care of their grandchild. A fixed term staff member will not be entitled to grandparent leave beyond the expiry of their contract. |
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| 29.12 | When making an application for leave the supervisor may request proof that the child is the grandchild of the staff member. | |
| Foster parents leave |
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| 29.13 |
A staff member who assumes the role of primary carer for a foster child shall be granted a maximum of the following in the twelve month period from the time the foster child enters the staff member’s care: |
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| (a) |
six weeks at half pay or three weeks at full pay if the child is under five years; or |
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| (b) | three weeks at half pay or eight days at full pay if the child is five years of age or older. |
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| Right of return to former position |
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| 29.14 | A staff member has a right to return to their former position after parental leave. ‘Former position’ is defined as the position held by the staff member immediately prior to the commencement of leave; except where by reason only of the pregnancy a staff member has been transferred to a more suitable or safe position before commencing maternity leave, the position held by her immediately before she transferred to the temporarily suitable or safe position. |
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| 29.15 |
Clause XX [Managing Change in the Workplace] and XX [Redundancy] will apply to the staff member absent on parental leave in the same manner as if the staff member were not absent. |
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| 29.16 |
Subject to operational requirements of the University, a staff member may upon application return to work part-time until the child reaches school age before resuming full-time work. |
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| 29.17 |
If it is not practicable for a staff member to return to work on a part-time basis in the position which she or he previously occupied prior to taking parental leave, the University will identify a suitable vacant position to which the staff member may choose to be placed on a fractional basis. |
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| Unpaid parental leave for casual staff |
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| 29.18 |
A casual staff member who meets the following criteria will be entitled to up to 52 weeks unpaid parental leave from the date of birth or taking custody of the child: |
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| (a) |
who, immediately prior to the proposed date of commencement of the parental leave, was employed by the University for a period of at least twelve months on a regular and systematic basis for several periods of employment or on a regular and systematic basis for a continuous period; and |
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| (b) |
who has, but for the pregnancy or the decision to adopt, a reasonable expectation of further employment. |
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| 29.19 |
The University will not fail to re-engage a casual staff member because: |
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| (a) |
the staff member or staff member's spouse is pregnant; or |
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| (b) |
the staff member is or has been immediately absent on parental leave. |
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| 29.20 |
A casual staff member who takes parental leave will remain a staff member of the University for the period of the parental leave. |
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| 29.21 |
The rights of the University in relation to engagement and re-engagement of casual staff are not affected, other than in accordance with the sub-clauses 29.15-29.17. |
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| Comment (Members Only Please) | ||
| (a) | Cleaning and Attendant (Gatekeeper) Staff | ||||||||||||||||||
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| (b) | Security Staff | ||||||||||||||||||
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| (c) | Custodians / Theatre Technicians / Unigym (Pool, Weights Room and Reception) Staff | ||||||||||||||||||
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| (d) | All Other Staff | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Comment (Members Only Please) |
| Draft UTS General Staff EA 2010 Agreed Clauses |
Check this page regularly for agreed clauses for the new General Staff Enterprise Agreement where, clause by clause, your CPSU Bargaining Team negotiate and win agreement for our new conditions of employment.