Building and Construction: Leave Provisions
Dec 21, 2023For those employees covered under the Building and Construction General On-site Award, listen up!!
Employees covered by this Award have slightly different provisions around personal and carer's leave compared to most other Awards, as provided for in the National Employment Standards.
We should all know by now that when our employment is terminated by our employer, or we give our notice period, we lose access to any outstanding personal and/or carer's leave that we have accrued once our employment ceases (keep in mind this is a general rule - some companies may operate differently so we always recommend checking your contract of employment)!
HOWEVER...
- For those under the B&C Award, where a worker is re-engaged by the same employer within a 6-month period, they can in fact claim access to any unused personal and carer's leave from their date of re-engagement with that same employer.
- The same rules will also apply in terms of continuous service - this will continue to accrue with the exclusion of the period whereby the employee was not engaged by the employer.
But why?
- It's not uncommon for employees to shift between companies within the building and construction industry, due to their nature of work. But each time an employee moves company, they lose access to any accrued leave entitlements (excluding annual leave) - which does seem pretty unfair.
- Therefore, if an employee decides to move back to their old company (within a period of 6 months) - these provisions allow them to utilise any existing accrued leave entitlements that aren't paid out, such as personal and carer's leave, ensuring they are not disadvantaged.
If you have any questions about these provisions or have any questions relating to the Building and Construction Award, feel free to reach out to the Employii Team at [email protected]
For more information on these provisions, you can access the Fair Work website here.
Author: Chelsea Finlay (HR Officer).
