I’m Gonna Leave
This section contains a lot of content and some if it is hard hitting. We shall sideline those casuals and forget about relationship status all together. We will, without fail, add in when there are particular exemptions that do mean casuals are included. So, let’s dive right in.
Personal Leave
No, not personal as in private. This isn’t about the elite and having your own box at the theatre. Although, that is a nice thought. If anyone has free tickets they want to offload, we won’t say no to those bad boys arriving in the mail in the coming days. You can read the official definition on the Fair Work Ombudsman website but let’s capture some basics here.
It is important to know that you are no obligation to disclose to your employer why you need to take personal leave. If it is due to your caring role, it can be beneficial to let your employer know. This prevents them from later running the ‘unfit for work’ or the excessive personal leave argument. This is a personal one, from the tender age of twenty, working in retail. Off work with a migraine, the manager at the helm was notorious for punishing students who put in notice of availability around exam time. Located close to the university, most workers were also full time students.
Payback for time off for exams was a given, you learnt to plan ahead for the next two weeks of one three-hour shift each week, until she needed you. Backlash over a medical certificate, on the other hand, was not what was anticipated. Calling in sick with a migraine for three days led to a trip to the doctor. The medical certificate submitted, it was done and dusted. Wrong. That manager picked it apart, noted it was a medical condition, not a migraine and made me return for a new medical certificate. Deciding how bypass the drama, a call was made to the medical clinic and the conversation went as follows:
Receptionist: No, there are no spare appointments this week and he cannot issue a new certificate without seeing you.
The conversation then escalated, but not in the way it was anticipated.
Receptionist: What?! She said what?!?!?! Absolutely not. The doctor had put a medical condition because, legally, he is not allowed to disclose what is wrong. Tell your manager the certificate stays as is and, if there are problems, tell her to call me and I’ll deal with her directly. Your manager is out of line!
Me: I know. She’s horrible, you have no idea.
She was. People gave her leeway because she lost her daughter in terrible and tragic circumstances but, given my age and limited funds due to studying at university full time, it was much more insidious than we all realised, at the time. So, now we have that little bit of history out of the way, let’s flip it. We’re off to open our eyes to see what humble vulnerability achieved.
Onto our case study:
Eye Can See What You Did There
Honesty is the best policy but being honest with a bully boss can get you in trouble. On the other hand, an honest conversation in the right circumstances can shift a challenging dynamic. One such encounter was with a long-term, committed employee who had received a notice of concern:
Unsatisfactory sick leave record
It’s common for people in positions of difficulty to obtain advice from more than one person. They are stressed, distressed and are seeking solace. The issue is, they perceive the person as an expert but this implies one has authority over the other. Many people know, intuitively, when something is wrong. It’s when the correct information isn’t conveyed that problems really arise.
As the recipient of such a caller, I was in the awkward position of potentially correcting incorrect advice. The person they’d spoken to prior was highly competent. He also sat right behind me and could hear my side of the conversation. If he was wrong, I was required to convey this without jeopardising our profession or professional relationship. If he was right, I was about to become the bearer of bad news for the person calling. Turns out I was neither.
If the customer complains — smile, apologise, collect the item, state you’ll return with a new [insert item here]. Don’t engage.
It’s the customer’s interpretation vs the chef’s vision of culinary art. A battle of egos and no one wins. No play is the fastest way to bypass it and avoid blame. If all else fails, offer a free aperitif or coffee, to console and leave the experience on a positive note.
The initial advice, technically correct should’ve ended the call. Wrong. One question later, a long call ensued. Two days later, the person seeking advice called to inform of updated events:
I’ve just been called into the manager’s office.
Never words you want to hear around potential disciplinary matters, I waited, breath withheld. Before we reach the outcome, let’s go back to what led to concerns about performance to begin with:
🤕 A pattern of leave, such as taking every second Monday off sick, can quickly become a performance problem once discerned by a manager.
🤕 A selection of days off, in excess of the norm, can also put you on their radar.
🏥 In this case, it was eye surgery, a two-week recovery, followed by a series of secondary infections.
👎🏼 The pattern of six single days off and two double days off was enough to trigger an unsatisfactory sick leave record. Almost two decades of a clean personal leave record, wiped in one letter.
The relationship prior to the catalyst for conflict – the unexpected ‘please explain’ letter – led to a sense of betrayal.
She hadn’t handled it well and he, recuperating from another unexpected eye infection, he wondered what was the point in going to work anymore. Twenty years in a job for it to end like this?
I paused, aware something didn’t add up but, unsure what, I bought time:
Me: So, you got along well prior? No interpersonal conflict or prior issues?
Him: No, none!
Me: Okay, but you took time off for the eye surgery, more than two weeks. It didn’t trigger unsatisfactory sick leave on the system, but this random mix of single days off has? With only one- or two-day absences? It doesn’t make sense. Why didn’t it trigger sooner? Are you sure you didn’t say something that upset her and now she’s paying you back?
Him: No! No way. We got along well, before she gave me this letter.
Me: So why not use the block of time off? That seems like the catalyst to trigger the system, rather than the single days. It’s just a day. You catch up the next. Two weeks…that’s moving into backfill territory…
Him: Oh, that was annual leave.
Me: Annual leave?
Him: Yeah, I didn’t want them to know I was getting surgery. So I took annual leave.
I paused, aware of the problem.
Me: Okay, so, let me ask you this. Does she know you had eye surgery, at all?
Him: Oh no! I didn’t want work to know.
Bingo. Problem solved. We agreed to write an email offering up past context to the situation. The goal was to highlight his decision to take annual leave, in order to protect him from being perceived differently in the workplace – his fear, not a reflection of the workplace or his manager. We also offered to provide medical evidence from his specialist. He wrote the email, not me but it was the plan to respond we negotiated on together. We found a mix of honesty and professional.
Back to his call, two days later. I registered he was out in his car, he’d only just departed the manager’s office but I struggled to grasp much more. He was in tears. We created calmed through a collective process of deep breaths and some water. It had affected him more than I realised, but that is common with conflict. When you sit in the moment it can be hard to realise the impact. The human body is in survival mode.
Having sent the email the next day, prior to leaving, he was called into her office first thing. She apologised for the letter and way she handled it, said she’d had a bad day. She offered, next time, to use accrued hours – even if there wasn’t a full day banked, make up the time another day that week. What came next was my realisation in the power of a question.
Him: Thank you for the advice. I haven’t slept for two weeks. The letter has been removed off the system. I told her I’d buy her a coffee next Monday before work and tell her about the surgery.
Excited for the win, there were not many in a world with such vast power imbalances – I updated his file. I congratulated him for his courage to be transparent, despite the fear of it backfiring on him and being used against him, alongside fears of being judged. Thinking nothing of it, I went onto the next client. It was a call from a coworker later that week that demonstrated the shift in the power dynamic:
Her: Thank you so much. He’s beyond relieved. He hadn’t slept for two weeks. To be honest, I was worried about him. He even talked about quitting. He even said he couldn’t look her in the eye. Thank you.
It is easy to see both sides of the story, in hindsight. The ability for the interaction to go in either direction is blatant and clear. There is a discomfort in these honest conversations but sincere vulnerability is the real key to creating better communication.
Be discerning, decide what’s right for you. You’ll know.
Care Factor
Despite being one of the most common forms of leave, carers’ leave can become highly contentious. If there are workplace practices set up, coupled with well-trained managers, carers’ leave is approved without much ado about anything. Others tend toward the Romeo and Juliet style and it becomes a comedy of errors where no one wins and we all end up in tears.
Some confusion originates with societal factors and the concept of family. We’ll discuss this below. Another angle is good old laziness. The supervisor/manager arrives on shift, sees the employee rostered cannot attend due to unexpected caring responsibilities but decides to take the coercive route.
It’s not supportive, nor is it conducive to positive workplace practices, but they do it anyway. It is more convenient than calling through the list of those not rostered on to work, especially when it’s not yet 8am. We understand the challenges associated with backfill and empathise. Failure to do so creates more work and greater discord. This is of little regard, it avoids doubling up on costs – the cost of paying for the person on leave and their replacement.
If the Academy of the Dramatic (Employment) Arts had an award for overacting, then it would be captured in the image below:
We Are Family
The key for this definition of family to work is the concept of immediate family. This is defined as a:
- spouse or former spouse
- de facto partner or former de facto partner
- child
- parent
- grandparent
- grandchild
- siblings,
- child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling of the employee’s spouse or de facto partner (or former spouse or de facto partner).
To them, they are family. To the system, where there’ll always be those who stretch the truth, take advantage and not worry about those left to pick up the extra workload, a strict definition is a must. For friends who are like family when they’re denied leave. At a time when emotions are high, it can be better to err on the side of caution and take a more compassionate stance. This takes us to another related area heavily skewed, based on societal norms.
Our First Nation’s people have a different perspective on family, often manifested in larger funky units which are made up of various aunties and uncles. It extends beyond the singular parental unit and into units of families. It is common for an aunt of uncle to care for children during certain periods and then reverse roles, as other family units take over care. This is not universal, by no means. It is different. The employment system was made by a legal entity mostly comprised of men – that is Australian politicians.
If you want an idea of how employment law has been influenced, you can read this article from almost two decades ago. This move went on to destabilise Australian employees for years to come, sadly so. It was known as Work Choices but it took away the right to choose. Even worse, it took away the right to seek remedy if you felt treated unfairly in the workplace, with particular impact on state-based workers. Back to our lesser seem Australian workers and our First Nations. Typically, families are not the mum, dad and two kids living together in suburban cities. They are versions of this, combined to become one larger family unit. For government and Census purposes, they’re singular, but for daily, life purposes, they are intermingled.
This arrangement, noted above, impacts on caring duties and requires an understanding of the more complex roles within these families. That Aunty who sends a birthday card every year is different to an Indigenous Australian Aunty or Uncle. It can seem unjust to be denied access to leave in circumstances such as these. Speaking to a cultural consultant within the workplace can address this, as well as having compassionate managers, those who see the person before they see a problem.
From experience, when a person leaves is when these memories of injustice come to mind. It is a terrible way for an employer to be remembered, after so many positive encounters, but all it takes is one experience of being disrespected, when a person is most their vulnerable, to create a lasting negative impact. The damage has become irreparable. A person-centred conversation, with compassion, can work wonders. You don’t even need an expert to help you. You simply need to be willing to listen.
Compassionate Leave
We approach this topic with extreme care. It is of a sensitive nature and, even though we warned you it was going to be a big topic, that still doesn’t prepare you for its arrival in your life. We link in the information from the source, either the Fair Work Ombudsman or Fair Work Commission, simply because the law is constantly changing. Those affected by COVID-19 would be more than well aware of this fact. Within weeks the Fair Work Act was overhauled and many Australians were forced onto annual leave, despite having nowhere to go, due to lockdowns impositions. We add a trigger warning to this section.
Despite our compassion for the lived experience of grief, we must be factual. The most recent change to the Fair Work Act took place at the end of 2021. Miscarriage has now been added to the existing list of grounds to access compassionate leave. The original grounds for compassionate leave are as follows:
- Member of the employee’s immediate family dies;
- Member of the employee’s immediate family contracts or develops a life-threatening illness or injury; or
- Parents experience a miscarriage.*
The amount of leave is two days. Either two full days taken, together or two single days, taken separately. This applies for all the grounds for compassionate leave. Please be mindful, in addition to the above for parents experiencing the still birth of a child, premature birth or infant death, additional unpaid leave is available under parental leave, another of the eleven National Employment Standards. It is unpaid, but it the time available is significantly longer. The same anti-discrimination protections are available to you. It is sad to have this area be used as a tool to demonstrate our current employment law system, but it is a timely reminder why we don’t give away hard won rights. It’s also an opportunity to link in support for those whose grief is often overlooked.
Legislation isn’t just changed overnight. The decision to add compassionate and bereavement leave for Australian parents, was achieved through five years of campaigning and advocacy by a group called The Pink Elephants. Keep in mind, the legislative change is open to be available to both genders but the push for the change was the reality that many females were back at work the same of next day, unable to take time off due to fears associated with stigma and uncertainty on how to proceed. Forced to start the day crying in a toilet cubicle, only to then paste on a fake smile and act as if nothing had happened to them. Many public sector entities have above the National Employment Standards in place, a strong stance, taken by the NSW Government, is one such example:
Where an employee or the spouse of an employee miscarries, the employee is entitled to five days paid special miscarriage leave on each occasion a pregnancy ceases by way of miscarriage up to 20 weeks’ gestation.
EXCERPT: NSW GOVERNMENT PREMIER & CABINET
This represents the emotional toll for those involved, with changes taking place in mid-2021. The purpose of these changes and positive employers like the NSW Government is twofold:
🤱🏼 Support grieving parents; and
🤱🏽 Encourage other employers.
The goal is to bring our employment system up to the top, rather than dropping it down to the lowest common denominator. Additional conditions, such as leave for distressing circumstances, are why it’s wise to investigate future employment options before jumping ship to your next employer. You can read the policy here, to help guide you towards best-practice in employment.
Some people experience significant loss and use work as an escape route, others cannot function as well, which creates higher levels of mental distress. So, what is the best way forward. There’s no one answer, but there are options.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
The problem with the Employee Assistance Program is that letters from the employer inform the employee they can access the EAP but most employees don’t know what an EAP is, how to use it and whether or not it is really confidential. It’s a service, an employer is required to offer, to support with aworkplace matters, such as to cope with the extra stress associated with disciplinary investigations. It is there for personal purposes too. We’ve seen people access the EAP to cope with parenting children with problematic and violent behaviour; relationship breakdowns; assault at work; and homelessness, for example. It is free. You generally get three sessions and information shared with your employer is de-identified. Information, for example, may include if the matter is personal or professional, gender and so on. No names are given.
We acknowledge some employees are challenged by the actual confidentiality component. If, in the midst of a disciplinary procedure, this lack of trust in authority is normal and it’s abnormal to blindly follow guidance given by your employer. But you’re shooting yourself in the foot if you disregard all offers for support. External options are your new best friend. Our Resources section has more information on these.
Well, that was an uncomfortable caption to write. It’s like, well, we love our readers but we can’t be at your beck and call 24/7, 365 days a year and most definitely not when we’re working! Unfortunately, this kind of excessive contact can be common within domestic and family violent (DFV) relationships, especially when the victim is at work. Why?
Work equals financial freedom and that is the most dangerous idea for a perpetrator of abuse. Note we use the language of perpetrator and victim because this is the language used within the justice system. We’re not assigning gender to either of these roles, females can be victims and perpetrators, as can males. Sadly, when it comes to DFV, gender does not discriminate. Keep in mind, neither can your employer, which is why unpaid leave and paid leave is available for the purposes of keeping the victim safe.
As always, we take you back to the Fair Work Ombudsman website for the key information. Keep in mind, the leave entitlements noted in the Employment Standards are unpaid. Given recent attention to this societal problem, many employers have access to paid leave as well. Employers who follow a best practice approach have specially trained Human Resource personnel who are allocated to the employee. Keep in mind, the victim has been taught to distrust anyone outside of the familial setting (abuse from a partner or spouse; a child abusing a parent; a parent abusing an adult child, as examples). The use of one or two key personnel permits a greater level of support than being passed onto whichever member of the Human Resources team is available. It also allows for the following options to be implemented:
- For larger organisations, those who work across multiple sites and franchises to relocate an employee at risk of violence with greater ease. For entities such as the large banks, this could be around the country. For other organisations, such as the big aged care providers, this could be anywhere across an Australian state.
- For employees with large leave balances, it can look like more flexibility in approving the cashing out a portion of annual leave to help with the relocation costs. Some employers may even be kind and choose to make use of the reallocation incentive within the Enterprise Agreement or Enterprise Bargaining Agreement. Another alternative is to permit access to long service leave to help with time off for court dates and school relocation, even if the person is staying in the same area.
- Other measures within the office context include changing the employee’s direct line so that the perpetrator can no longer call at work; having security notified of the perpetrator’s name, a digital image shared and action steps to take if they do present at the place of employment, such as contact the authorities; and security to escort the victim to their car.
- Financial support, particularly in relation to pay increases, annual Consumer Price Index (CPI), performance-based increases and any bonuses that may be on offer. See below, for examples.
The Purple Purse
It’s an American initiative but the content is easily transferable and still applicable to Australian victims. It takes the participant back to the point of creation and that is with financial security. You can find out more here. Note, these sites all have one thing in common.
QUICK EXIT
My Money
One best practice in relation to income is at your annual review or wage increase. For those on the Award, this is once a year and is decided at a federal level.^ One employer of choice would contact each employee, note the upcoming increase and note the following:
💵 A wage increase of a certain percentage would soon be applied to the employee’s base wage.
💵 This would equate to [insert dollar amount here] each pay period [insert here — weekly, fortnightly or monthly].
💵 Would the employee like this amount to be put into the same bank account as on file OR would the employee like it put into a separate account?*
It not seem like much but, for the minimum wage, sits around $20 per week. Over a year, that’s around $1k that can be put into an account, with funds to help pay for a bond rental, basic appliances for a new property or even school uniforms associated with the cost of transferring to a new school, as examples.
It is also a discrete way to support victims. That money may be used to catch public transport and get to a LegalAid appointment, something that lack of funds prohibited in the past. The same applies for any appointments associated with professional health care.
* This method of dealing with annual wage increases applies to the general population. It’s based on the premise that the more we have, the more we spend. If we are used to living on a certain amount then we will not miss the increase. It’s a direct way to force a savings mentality on us and can have future impacts we don’t realise until much later on.
^Read more about the Federal Wage Review here, to find out when they happen, based on industry.
Personal/Carers’ Leave, Compassionate Leave & Unpaid Family & Domestic & Family Violence Leave.
NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS