Fair Work Act. Australia
(3) An award/agreement free employee qualifies for the shiftworker annual leave entitlement if:
(a) the employee:
(i) is employed in an enterprise in which shifts are continuously rostered 24 hours a day for 7 days a week; and
(ii) is regularly rostered to work those shifts; and
(iii) regularly works on Sundays and public holidays; or
(b) the employee is in a class of employees prescribed by the regulations as shiftworkers for the purposes of the National Employment Standards.
(4) However, an employee referred to in subsection (3) does not qualify for the shiftworker annual leave entitlement if the employee is in a class of employees prescribed by the regulations as not being qualified for that entitlement.
(5) Without limiting the way in which a class may be described for the purposes of paragraph (3)(b) or subsection (4), the class may be described by reference to one or more of the following:
(a) a particular industry or part of an industry;
(b) a particular kind of work;
(c) a particular type of employment.
88 Taking paid annual leave
(1) Paid annual leave may be taken for a period agreed between an employee and his or her employer.
(2) The employer must not unreasonably refuse to agree to a request by the employee to take paid annual leave.
89 Employee not taken to be on paid annual leave at certain times
Public holidays
(1) If the period during which an employee takes paid annual leave includes a day or part-day that is a public holiday in the place where the employee is based for work purposes, the employee is taken not to be on paid annual leave on that public holiday.
Other periods of leave
(2) If the period during which an employee takes paid annual leave includes a period of any other leave (other than unpaid parental leave) under this Part, or a period of absence from employment under Division 8 (which deals with community service leave), the employee is taken not to be on paid annual leave for the period of that other leave or absence.
90 Payment for annual leave
(1) If, in accordance with this Division, an employee takes a period of paid annual leave, the employer must pay the employee at the employee’s base rate of pay for the employee’s ordinary hours of work in the period.
(2) If, when the employment of an employee ends, the employee has a period of untaken paid annual leave, the employer must pay the employee the amount that would have been payable to the employee had the employee taken that period of leave.
91 Transfer of employment situations that affect entitlement to payment for period of untaken paid annual leave
Transfer of employment situation in which employer may decide not to recognise employee’s service with first employer
(1) Subsection 22(5) does not apply (for the purpose of this Division) to a transfer of employment between non-associated entities in relation to an employee, if the second employer decides not to recognise the employee’s service with the first employer (for the purpose of this Division).
Employee is not entitled to payment for untaken annual leave if service with first employer counts as service with second employer
(2) If subsection 22(5) applies (for the purpose of this Division) to a transfer of employment in relation to an employee, the employee is not entitled to be paid an amount under subsection 90(2) for a period of untaken paid annual leave.
Note: Subsection 22(5) provides that, generally, if there is a transfer of employment, service with the first employer counts as service with the second employer.
92 Paid annual leave must not be cashed out except in accordance with permitted cashing out terms
Paid annual leave must not be cashed out, except in accordance with:
(a) cashing out terms included in a modern award or enterprise agreement under section 93, or
(b) an agreement between an employer and an award/agreement free employee under subsection 94(1).
93 Modern awards and enterprise agreements may include terms relating to cashing out and taking paid annual leave
Terms about cashing out paid annual leave
(1) A modern award or enterprise agreement may include terms providing for the cashing out of paid annual leave by an employee.
(2) The terms must require that:
(a) paid annual leave must not be cashed out if the cashing out would result in the employee’s remaining accrued entitlement to paid annual leave being less than 4 weeks; and
(b) each cashing out of a particular amount of paid annual leave must be by a separate agreement in writing between the employer and the employee; and
(c) the employee must be paid at least the full amount that would have been payable to the employee had the employee taken the leave that the employee has forgone.
Terms about requirements to take paid annual leave
(3) A modern award or enterprise agreement may include terms requiring an employee, or allowing for an employee to be required, to take paid annual leave in particular circumstances, but only if the requirement is reasonable.
Terms about taking paid annual leave
(4) A modern award or enterprise agreement may include terms otherwise dealing with the taking of paid annual leave.
94 Cashing out and taking paid annual leave for award/agreement free employees
Agreements to cash out paid annual leave
(1) An employer and an award/agreement free employee may agree to the employee cashing out a particular amount of the employee’s accrued paid annual leave.
(2) The employer and the employee must not agree to the employee cashing out an amount of paid annual leave if the agreement would result in the employee’s remaining accrued entitlement to paid annual leave being less than 4 weeks.
(3) Each agreement to cash out a particular amount of paid annual leave must be a separate agreement in writing.
(4) The employer must pay the employee at least the full amount that would have been payable to the employee had the employee taken the leave that the employee has forgone.
Requirements to take paid annual leave
(5) An employer may require an award/agreement free employee to take a period of paid annual leave, but only if the requirement is reasonable.
Note: A requirement to take paid annual leave may be reasonable if, for example:
(a) the employee has accrued an excessive amount of paid annual leave; or
(b) the employer’s enterprise is being shut down for a period (for example, between Christmas and New Year).
Agreements about taking paid annual leave
(6) An employer and an award/agreement free employee may agree on when and how paid annual leave may be taken by the employee.
Note: Matters that could be agreed include, for example, the following:
(a) that paid annual leave may be taken in advance of accrual;
(b) that paid annual leave must be taken within a fixed period of time after it is accrued;
(c) the form of application for paid annual leave;
(d) that a specified period of notice must be given before taking paid annual leave.