Leave options for COVID-19 related absences

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There are numerous leave options available for employees covered by the General Retail Industry Award 2020.

As the Omicron wave of COVID-19 spreads across Australia, more employees are being exposed to COVID-19. Employees are requesting time off work to isolate, either because they are awaiting results of a test, have contracted COVID-19, or they are a close contact of someone who has contracted COVID-19. Under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and the General Retail Industry Award 2020 (GRIA), your employees have a number of leave options available during this time.

Unpaid pandemic leave

Any employee, whether full-time, part-time, or casual, may access unpaid pandemic leave under the GRIA for the duration of their isolation. Employees may take up to two weeks of unpaid pandemic leave, and longer by agreement. Employees do not have to accrue this leave, and it is available to them immediately. They are able to request this leave because they have been prevented from working by measures taken by the government in response to COVID-19 (e.g., being asked to self-isolate). Once requested, the member has to permit the employee to take this leave.

Please note that employees who merely do not want to work due to fear of contracting COVID-19 will not be able to access unpaid pandemic leave.

Annual leave

A full-time or part-time employee with accrued annual leave may request to take their annual leave. You may not direct your employees to take this leave, except in special circumstances. Therefore, annual leave must be taken by agreement.

Last year, employees could access annual leave at half pay. As of 31 December 2021 onwards, employees are not permitted to commence a new period of annual leave at half pay, although an existing period that began before 31 December 2021 may continue.

Unpaid leave / leave without pay

An employee may also take a period of unpaid leave by mutual agreement with their employer. This is available to fulltime and part-time employees.

On unpaid leave, the employee will not continue to accrue annual leave or personal/carer’s (sick) leave, and the period will not be counted towards their length of service. An employee may take an unlimited amount of unpaid leave depending on their agreement with their employer, however it is advisable that any period of unpaid leave is clearly defined. It is advisable for the parties to agree to a definite period of unpaid leave.

Personal/carer’s (sick) leave

Your employees will not be able to access their personal/carer’s (sick) leave if they are only isolating after becoming a close contact or taking a test. Sick leave is only available if the employee is not fit for work due to personal illness or injury. If the employee is diagnosed with COVID-19, or suffering from symptoms of COVID-19, they may access their sick leave.

You may request reasonable evidence from the employee that satisfies you that they are unwell, such as a medical

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certificate. As doctor’s appointments and PCR tests become less available to employees, other evidence may be acceptable. For example, you may instead request that the employee provide correspondence from the government received after reporting their positive Rapid Antigen Test. Alternatively, you could ask the employee for a photograph of their positive Rapid Antigen Test next to their signature and today’s date.

Government payments

Employees may be eligible for various government payments depending on their employment type and what leave arrangements they have made with you. It is the employee’s responsibility to check their eligibility for any government payments, and you should avoid promising an employee that they will be eligible for a payment if they accept a certain leave-related arrangement. Allow the employee to conduct their own research and collaborate with you to find a leave solution that suits both parties.

Keep records of leave arrangements

An agreement with any employee to take any period of leave described above should be recorded in writing and kept for your records. This agreement can be a form which details the following: • The employee’s name • The type of leave being taken • The commencement date, and end date, of the leave • The total number of leave in hours or days; and • The signature of the member and your employee.

If you need assistance with this form, please contact our Legal and IR team for a template.

My store is not covered by the GRIA. Do my employees have access to these leave options?

Your employees will have access to annual leave, unpaid leave, and personal leave; however, it is unlikely they will have access to unpaid pandemic leave. You must check your individual enterprise/ collective agreement or award to confirm what options are available to you. Our Legal and IR team can assist you in considering options under any industrial instrument.

We understand that organising leave for some employees may be challenging and each business will have unique circumstances. Should you require any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our Legal and IR team on 1800 888 479 Option 1 or legal@mga.asn.au.