Leave Management in Schools – Teachers

Section 3 – Sickness
Contents
Sick Leave (Incorporating Illness and Injury) With Pay .................... 1
Policy ................................................................................................................ 1
Annual Entitlement................................................................................................................ 1
Criteria/Definition .................................................................................................................. 1
Debiting Paid Sick Leave ...................................................................................................... 1
Full-time Teachers.............................................................................................................1
Part-time Teachers............................................................................................................ 1
Eligibility................................................................................................................................ 1
Entitlements .......................................................................................................................... 2
Accumulation of Paid Sick Leave ...................................................................................... 2
On Appointment ................................................................................................................ 2
Sickness During Currency of Long Service Leave ............................................................ 2
Exit Students in First Two Years of Permanent Teaching Appointment................................ 2
Leave Without Pay – Absence Without Approval.................................................................. 2
Making Up Time.................................................................................................................... 2
Medical Certificates and Reasonable Grounds..................................................................... 3
Monitoring Health.................................................................................................................. 4
Public Holidays ..................................................................................................................... 4
Qualifying for Paid Sick Leave While on Leave Without Pay ................................................ 5
A New Entitlement Accrues............................................................................................... 5
Maternity Leave................................................................................................................. 5
Source of Policy.................................................................................................................... 5
War Service Disability Special Sick Leave............................................................................ 5
When Paid Sick Leave Entitlements are Exhausted ............................................................. 5
Workers’ Compensation and Reinstatement of Paid Sick Leave Entitlements ..................... 6
Principal’s Delegated Responsibility.............................................................. 6
Action Required .................................................................................................................... 6
Applying on Behalf of a Teacher........................................................................................... 7
Reason for Absence Not Notified.......................................................................................... 7
Teacher’s Responsibility ................................................................................. 7
Sick Leave (Incorporating Illness and Injury) Without Pay .............. 8
Policy ................................................................................................................ 8
Criteria/Definition .................................................................................................................. 8
Debiting Sick Leave Without Pay.......................................................................................... 8
Full-time Teachers.............................................................................................................8
Part-time Teachers............................................................................................................ 8
Eligibility................................................................................................................................ 9
Impact on Entitlement ........................................................................................................... 9
Leave Without Pay – Absence Without Approval.................................................................. 9
Medical Certificates and Reasonable Grounds..................................................................... 9
Qualifying for Paid Sick Leave While on Leave Without Pay .............................................. 10
A New Entitlement Accrues............................................................................................. 10
Maternity Leave............................................................................................................... 10
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 Source of Policy.................................................................................................................. 11
When Paid Sick Leave Entitlements are Exhausted ........................................................... 11
Principal’s Delegated Responsibility............................................................ 11
Action Required .................................................................................................................. 11
Applying on Behalf of a Teacher......................................................................................... 12
Reason for Absence Not Notified........................................................................................ 13
Teacher’s Responsibility ............................................................................... 13

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Leave Management in Schools – Teachers Sickness

Sick Leave (Incorporating Illness and Injury) With Pay

Policy
Annual Entitlement
Every permanent teacher, both full-time and part-time, is credited with up to 10 working
days of paid sick leave entitlement on each 1st of January allocated on the basis of one
day’s sick leave for each 20 duty days appointed in the previous calendar year.

Contract and limited tenure teachers should refer to “Entitlements: On Appointment” on

the next page.

Criteria/Definition
Paid sick leave will only be granted if the teacher was unfit for work because of the
teacher’s own illness or injury. Eligible teachers can use credited entitlements as
required at any time, and in particular, during the first 12 months of permanent service.

Except as provided for in “Leave and Reimbursable Expenses for Non-Metropolitan

Employees” in Section 8, a teacher absent to attend a medical or dental appointment is
not eligible for paid sick leave unless a certificate stating that the teacher was unfit for
work because of illness or injury is provided. For example, a medical appointment to
obtain a vaccination before travelling overseas does not meet the criterion.

Debiting Paid Sick Leave

Full-time Teachers
· For full-time teachers, paid sick leave is to be applied for and debited in
days or half days.

Part-time Teachers
· For part-time teachers, paid sick leave can only be applied for and
granted in whole days. They are credited with 10 whole working days
of sick leave entitlement each year, rather than a pro rata fraction and
must therefore claim the total number of working days, each
counted as a whole day, for which they are absent, whether or not
they are timetabled or required to be on duty.

Examples
A part-time teacher is timetabled to teach for parts of Monday, Tuesday,
Thursday and Friday of each school week:

v If the teacher was absent on Tuesday and Thursday, he/she would

be required to claim each working day falling during the period of
absence, ie 3 whole days.

v If the teacher was absent on Monday and Tuesday and returned to

work on Thursday, then 2 working days leave must be claimed.

Eligibility
Permanent, limited tenure and contract teachers are eligible for paid sick leave.

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Leave Management in Schools – Teachers Sickness

Entitlements

Accumulation of Paid Sick Leave

Paid sick leave entitlements accumulate without limit while the teacher is
either on duty or on paid leave, including WorkCover. For periods of leave
without pay refer to Appendix 1.

On Appointment
Ten working days for both full-time and part-time teachers on permanent
appointment.

Both full-time and part-time contract and limited tenure teachers are
credited with 1 day of paid sick leave entitlement for every completed 20
duty days of the contract or 2.5 days of paid sick leave for every complete
term included in the contract.

Sick leave entitlements for both full-time and part-time contract and limited
tenure teachers who are appointed to successive contracts with a break of
no more than 30 duty days – or receive an extension to a contract period –
are credited on the basis of the total period worked.

If the contract is not completed as expected then appropriate adjustments

will be made.

See also “Prior Service and Sick Leave Entitlements” in Appendix 2.

Sickness During Currency of Long Service Leave

Where a teacher who is on long service leave produces a satisfactory
medical certificate that he/she has been confined to a residence or hospital
for a period of at least 14 calendar days, then the principal may recommend
to the Superintendent, Human Resources the conversion of this period of
long service leave to paid sick leave subject to sufficient sick leave
entitlement being available.

Exit Students in First Two Years of Permanent Teaching Appointment

See “Sick Leave for Exit Students” in Section 5.

Leave Without Pay – Absence Without Approval

A teacher who is absent from school and who fails to produce a satisfactory medical
certificate when required by the Regulations or instructed by the principal to do so will
have the work period missed recorded as “leave without pay – absence without
approval”.

Repeated occurrences would leave the teacher liable to disciplinary action (see
Education Act, section 26).

Making Up Time
A teacher may not make up time lost through sickness.

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Leave Management in Schools – Teachers Sickness

Medical Certificates and Reasonable Grounds

If the period of absence of a teacher on the ground of illness or injury exceeds 3 duty
days at any time, the application for leave must be accompanied by a satisfactory
medical certificate. (Regulation 16)

Principals can require individual teachers to provide satisfactory medical certificates for
periods of absence of 3 duty days or less if they have reasonable grounds for doing so.

Reasonable grounds would be deemed to exist if the principal believes or has reason to
believe that the teacher seeking paid sick leave was not unfit for work based upon an
understanding obtained from:

· the completed application for leave form submitted by the teacher;

· information provided by the teacher;

· personal observation of the teacher before and after the absence, possibly
supplemented by questioning;

· information provided by other members of staff;

· information provided by members of the public including parents of children

attending the school, the police, medical personnel, staff colleagues in other schools
or other members of the community;

· members of the school community including students, volunteer workers, school

council employees, school council members or members of its affiliated
organisations; or

· anecdotal information from an identified source.

Other factors which can be taken into account in establishing reasonable grounds for
requesting a medical certificate include:

· the frequency of absence over a period of time;

· the number of absences over a period of time;

· the pattern of absences;

· the timing of absence relative to public holidays, school vacations, etc; or

· comments made in advance and attributed to the teacher that he/she was planning
to be absent on a particular day.

If the principal has reasonable grounds for believing that the teacher was not “unfit for
work for the period claimed due to the teacher’s own illness or injury” when paid sick
leave is sought, then the issue should be discussed promptly and empathetically with
the teacher. The teacher may then decide to submit an amended leave form. If the
principal considers that the teacher has not demonstrated that the absence meets the
criteria, an oral caution should be given to the teacher and documented.

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Leave Management in Schools – Teachers Sickness

If this situation is repeated, a written warning should be given to the teacher and a
written acknowledgment of its receipt obtained.

Generally after a third occurrence, it is appropriate to instruct the teacher in writing to

provide a medical certificate for every occasion leave on the ground of illness or injury is
sought. The letter should also state that if a satisfactory medical certificate is not
provided the absence will be regarded as “leave without pay – absence without
approval”. A written acknowledgment of its receipt should be obtained.

If any incident shows blatant and deliberate disregard of the leave procedures by the
teacher (eg the teacher boasts about claiming paid sick leave when not sick), the above
process can be shortened. (Refer to “Leave Without Pay – Absence Without Approval”
in this Section.)

Monitoring Health
All persons in leadership positions are expected to maintain an appropriate level of
awareness of the health and well-being of the employees who report to them. This
monitoring should be supportive and non-intrusive. It is good personnel management
practice and helps to maintain staff morale when done well.

Periodically it may be advisable to discuss health issues in a general manner with staff.
In specific instances, it may be advisable to suggest an individual staff member seek
medical advice or the advice of one of the department’s personnel counsellors. On
occasion, it may be appropriate for the principal to arrange for an ambulance to call at
the school in the case of injury or suggest that a teacher goes home on the grounds of
sickness. If the health issues for an individual are ongoing, the principal should
establish and implement – in consultation with the individual and with medical advice –
a health management plan for that teacher.

Principals and other school leaders have a duty of care for all students in the school and
so must try and be aware of events or circumstances which may mean a teacher’s
capacity to care for students’ well-being is significantly impaired. Principals especially
have a responsibility to maintain (as far as is reasonably practical) a safe working
environment and at times this requires some intervention in health matters. At times, a
principal may request (or require) a medical certificate to provide evidence as to the
health status of a teacher. For example, a teacher who has suffered from an infectious
disease must provide a medical clearance from a medical practitioner before returning
to work.

Further advice on these matters is available from a number of specialist officers in the
Human Resources Directorate.

Every teacher also has a personal responsibility to safeguard their own health and
capacity to carry out their duties effectively.

Public Holidays
A public holiday immediately before or after paid sick leave is taken will not affect the
amount of paid sick leave debited. When a public holiday (duty day) falls between
working days, only the number of absent working days need be claimed (see ED154
and ED154A). A satisfactory medical certificate will be still be required if the number of
duty days absent exceeds 3.

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Leave Management in Schools – Teachers Sickness

Qualifying for Paid Sick Leave While on Leave Without Pay

Generally, teachers on leave without pay are not eligible for paid sick leave. Exceptions
are:

A New Entitlement Accrues

The principal may approve paid sick leave for illness or injury while a
teacher is on leave without pay (due to sickness) if a new entitlement
accrues. The normal rules about application and presentation of
satisfactory medical certificates apply.

Maternity Leave
Where a teacher on maternity leave suffers a sickness or injury that is, in
the opinion of the Chief Executive:

· unconnected with the pregnancy; or

· is a significant abnormal medical condition arising out of the pregnancy

or the birth of the child;

the teacher must be granted sick leave with pay for the medically certified
period not exceeding the period, if any, standing to the credit of the teacher.

Source of Policy
Education Act Section 24; Education Regulations 15, 16, 21, 22, 24 and 28.

War Service Disability Special Sick Leave

See Section 5

When Paid Sick Leave Entitlements are Exhausted

When paid sick leave credits are exhausted, the teacher may request leave without pay,
long service leave or, where applicable, country incentive leave on the grounds of
sickness if verified by satisfactory medical certificates.

The principal may:

· approve leave without pay for a period of less than, but not equal to, one school
term; and/or

· recommend approval of a longer period of leave without pay, long service leave or,
where applicable, country incentive leave on the grounds of sickness to the
Superintendent, Human Resources.

Where the teacher is unlikely to return to work for a significant period, he/she may be
able to access a “temporary invalidity benefit” through Super SA for up to 18 months.

Where the teacher is unlikely to return to work in the foreseeable future because of
ongoing ill health, advice is to be sought from the Superintendent, Human Resources
whether action to retire the teacher on the grounds of invalidity should be commenced
before approving leave.

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Leave Management in Schools – Teachers Sickness

Workers’ Compensation and Reinstatement of Paid Sick Leave Entitlements

Relevant paid sick leave entitlements used before a workers’ compensation claim is
accepted will be reinstated, for the period of the approved claim, providing the lost time
only relates to the claim for compensation.

Principal’s Delegated Responsibility

Action Required
Before approving, subject to entitlement, an application for paid sick leave, the principal
is to be satisfied that the teacher was unfit for work for the period claimed due to the
teacher’s own illness or injury.

This action includes checking required medical certificates are provided and are
“satisfactory”, ie they certify that the teacher was “unfit for work due to the teacher’s own
illness or injury”. He/she can be required to provide a satisfactory medical certificate
regardless of the length of time absent (see “Medical Certificates and Reasonable
Grounds”).

· If satisfied, the principal is then to:

v if the application is for up to 5 consecutive duty days, approve paid sick leave and
forward the completed ED154A together with the satisfactory medical certificate
(where applicable) to Payroll Services; or

v if the application is for more than 5 consecutive duty days, recommend paid sick
leave and forward the completed ED154 together with the satisfactory medical
certificate (where applicable) to the Superintendent, Human Resources;

or

· in the event of a required medical certificate not being provided, record the absence
as “leave without pay – absent without approval” on either ED154 or ED154A as
follows:

v if the application is for up to 5 consecutive duty days, forward the completed

ED154A to Payroll Services;

v if the application is for more than 5 consecutive duty days, forward the above
recommendation on ED154 to the Superintendent, Human Resources.

The principal should also:

· inform the teacher as soon as possible if Payroll Services advises that the teacher
has exhausted his/her paid sick leave entitlement or is not eligible for paid sick leave;

· discuss accessing other leave provisions with the teacher, if necessary;

· maintain an accurate record of absences and sick leave approvals/recommendations

and non-approvals/recommendations and provide Payroll Services with a complete
return for the previous month at the beginning of each month;

· where the total of absences in a year exceeds 7 working days and, where
appropriate:
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v provide support for the teacher in relation to any personal difficulties that may
exist;

v consider implementing a supportive absence monitoring program;

· consider the effect of any existing monitoring program on the application or vice
versa;

· recommend to the Chief Executive, where special circumstances exist, that the
teacher undergo a departmental medical examination to ascertain whether the
absence was for reason of illness or injury. Generally time constraints make this
impractical and it would normally be more useful to require that for a specified period
all absences be supported by satisfactory medical certificates.

Applying on Behalf of a Teacher

The principal is to complete an appropriate application for leave when satisfied that the
teacher is ill or injured and is unable (ie, the circumstances make it impossible) to
complete the application personally. (Education Regulation 15).

If a teacher refuses or is unwilling to submit an application for paid sick leave, then
the principal should pursue disciplinary action (Section 26(1) Education Act).

Reason for Absence Not Notified

When the details of and the reason for an absence have not been notified to the school,
the principal is responsible for seeking to contact the person in appropriate ways. If
contact cannot be made or no satisfactory reason is given for the absence then urgent
action should be taken by the principal to suspend the pay of the teacher for the entire
period of absence. Following application, presentation of satisfactory medical
certificates and approval, the necessary adjustments to pay and sick leave entitlements
will be made.

Teacher’s Responsibility
A sick or injured teacher is to:

· notify the school’s nominee of inability to attend work and the likely duration of absence
as a matter of urgency so that satisfactory supervision of students can be provided;

· where possible, regularly keep that person informed of the likely return date and of
tasks which need to be carried out during the absence;

· inform the principal as soon as possible if it is likely that the absence will exceed
current entitlements;

· subject to current leave entitlements:

v complete ED154A
for absences up to 5 consecutive duty days, attach a satisfactory medical certificate
if required (see below) and forward to the principal for approval as soon as
practicable upon resumption of work; or

v complete ED154
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for absences exceeding 5 consecutive duty days, attach a satisfactory medical

certificate and forward through the principal for recommendation and departmental
approval as soon as practicable upon resumption of work; or

v complete ED154 as above

for absences of an indefinite nature, attach a satisfactory medical certificate and
apply for the number of days covered by the certificate. This procedure should be
repeated each time a new satisfactory medical certificate is issued as a matter of
urgency.

· if applying for paid sick leave, provide a satisfactory medical certificate as follows:

v for all absences which are longer than 3 consecutive duty days;

v when instructed by the principal, for absences of 3 consecutive duty days or less;

· participate co-operatively in any sick leave monitoring program set up;

· undergo a medical examination if required by the Chief Executive.

Sick Leave (Incorporating Illness and Injury) Without Pay

Policy
Criteria/Definition
Leave without pay may be granted on the grounds of sickness where the teacher has
exhausted his/her entitlement to paid sick leave and was unfit for work because of
his/her own illness or injury.

Debiting Sick Leave Without Pay

Full-time Teachers
· For full-time teachers, leave without pay for sickness is to be applied for
and debited in days or half days;

Part-time Teachers
· For part-time teachers on leave without pay for sickness, absence for full
weeks will be treated according to the fraction of time employed. For
part weeks, leave without pay can only be applied for and granted in
whole days. The period of leave applied for must cover all duty days,
each counted as a whole day, whether or not the teachers are timetabled
or required on duty.

Examples
A part-time teacher on 0.6 fraction of time is timetabled to teach for
parts of Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday of each school week:

v If the teacher was absent on Tuesday and Thursday, he/she would

be required to claim each duty day falling during the period of
absence, ie 3 whole days.

v If the teacher was absent on Monday and Tuesday and returned to

work on Thursday, then 2 duty days leave must be claimed.

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The teacher will be debited one tenth of his/her usual fortnightly salary
per day of leave without pay. This equates to 0.06 of the equivalent full-
time fortnightly salary per day of absence on leave without pay.

Eligibility
Permanent, limited tenure and contract teachers are eligible for sick leave without pay.

Impact on Entitlement
Paid sick leave entitlements credited each year on January 1st are reduced by 1 day for
every 20 aggregated duty days absent on leave without pay in the previous school year
up to a maximum of 10.

Leave Without Pay – Absence Without Approval

A teacher who is absent from school and who fails to produce a satisfactory medical
certificate when required by the Regulations or instructed by the principal to do so will
have the work period missed recorded as “leave without pay – absence without
approval”

Repeated occurrences would leave the teacher liable to disciplinary action (see
Education Act, Section 26).

Medical Certificates and Reasonable Grounds

If the period of absence of a teacher on the ground of illness or injury exceeds 3 duty
days at any time, the application for leave must be accompanied by a satisfactory
medical certificate. (Regulation 16)

Principals can require individual teachers to provide satisfactory medical certificates for
periods of absence of 3 duty days or less if they have reasonable grounds for doing so.

Reasonable grounds would be deemed to exist if the principal believes or has reason to
believe that the teacher seeking paid sick leave was not unfit for work based upon an
understanding obtained from:

· the completed application for leave form submitted by the teacher;

· information provided by the teacher;

· personal observation of the teacher before and after the absence, possibly
supplemented by questioning;

· information provided by other members of staff;

· information provided by members of the public including parents of children

attending the school, the police, medical personnel, staff colleagues in other schools
or other members of the community;

· members of the school community including students, volunteer workers, school

council employees, school council members or members of its affiliated
organisations; or

· anecdotal information from an identified source.

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Leave Management in Schools – Teachers Sickness

Other factors which can be taken into account in establishing reasonable grounds for
requesting a medical certificate include:

· the frequency of absence over a period of time;

· the number of absences over a period of time;

· the pattern of absences;

· the timing of absence relative to public holidays, school vacations, etc; or

· comments made in advance and attributed to the teacher that he/she was planning
to be absent on a particular day.

If the principal has reasonable grounds for believing that the teacher was not “unfit for
work for the period claimed due to the teacher’s own illness or injury” when paid sick
leave is sought, then the issue should be discussed promptly and empathetically with
the teacher. The teacher may then decide to submit an amended leave form. If the
principal considers that the teacher has not demonstrated that the absence meets the
criteria, an oral caution should be given to the teacher and documented.

If this situation is repeated, a written warning should be given to the teacher and a
written acknowledgment of its receipt obtained.

Generally after a third occurrence, it is appropriate to instruct the teacher in writing to

provide a medical certificate for every occasion leave on the ground of illness or injury is
sought. The letter should also state that if a satisfactory medical certificate is not
provided the absence will be regarded as “leave without pay – absence without
approval”. A written acknowledgment of its receipt should be obtained.

If any incident shows blatant and deliberate disregard of the leave procedures by the
teacher (eg the teacher boasts about claiming paid sick leave when not sick), the above
process can be shortened. (Refer to “Leave Without Pay – Absence Without Approval”
in this Section.)

Qualifying for Paid Sick Leave While on Leave Without Pay

Generally, teachers on leave without pay are not eligible for paid sick leave. Exceptions
are:

A New Entitlement Accrues

The principal may approve paid sick leave for illness or injury while a
teacher is on leave without pay (due to sickness) if a new entitlement
accrues. The normal rules about application and presentation of
satisfactory medical certificates apply.

Maternity Leave
Where a teacher on maternity leave suffers a sickness or injury that is, in
the opinion of the Chief Executive:

· unconnected with the pregnancy; or

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Leave Management in Schools – Teachers Sickness

· is a significant abnormal medical condition arising out of the pregnancy

or the birth of the child;

the teacher must be granted sick leave with pay for the medically certified
period not exceeding the period, if any, standing to the credit of the teacher.

Source of Policy
DETE Policy “Special Leave”
Education Regulations 16(5), (6), (7) and 20.

When Paid Sick Leave Entitlements are Exhausted

When paid sick leave credits are exhausted, the teacher may request leave without pay,
long service leave or, where applicable, country incentive leave on the grounds of
sickness if verified by satisfactory medical certificates.

The principal may:

· approve leave without pay for a period of less than, but not equal to, one school
term; and/or

· recommend approval of a longer period of leave without pay, long service leave or,
where applicable, country incentive leave on the grounds of sickness to the
Superintendent, Human Resources.

Where the teacher is unlikely to return to work for a significant period, he/she may be
able to access a “temporary invalidity benefit” through Super SA for up to 18 months.

Where the teacher is unlikely to return to work in the foreseeable future because of
ongoing ill health, advice is to be sought from the Superintendent, Human Resources
whether action to retire the teacher on the grounds of invalidity should be commenced
before approving leave.

Principal’s Delegated Responsibility

Action Required
Before approving an application for leave without pay on the grounds of sickness, the
principal is to be satisfied that the teacher was unfit for work for the period claimed due
to the teacher’s own illness or injury.

This action includes checking required medical certificates are provided and are
“satisfactory”, ie they certify that the teacher was “unfit for work due to the teacher’s own
illness or injury”. He/she can be required to provide a satisfactory medical certificate
regardless of the length of time absent (see “Medical Certificates and Reasonable
Grounds”).

· If satisfied the conditions are met, the principal is then to:

v if the application is for less than, but not equal to, one school term, approve leave
without pay for sickness for the period covered by the medical certificate (where
applicable) and forward the completed ED154A together with the satisfactory
medical certificate (where applicable) to Payroll Services; or

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v if the application and medical certificate is for one school term or more,
recommend leave without pay for sickness and forward the completed ED154
together with the satisfactory medical certificate (where applicable) to the
Superintendent, Human Resources;

or

· in the event of a required medical certificate not being provided, record the absence
as “leave without pay – absent without approval” on either ED154 or ED154A as
follows:

v if the application is for up to 5 consecutive duty days, forward the completed

ED154A to Payroll Services;

v if the application is for more than 5 consecutive duty days, forward the above
recommendation on ED154 to the Superintendent, Human Resources.

The principal should also:

· discuss accessing other leave provisions with the teacher, if necessary (see “When
Paid Sick Leave Entitlements are Exhausted” in this Section);

· maintain an accurate record of absences and sick leave approvals/recommendations

and non-approvals/recommendations and provide Payroll Services with a complete
return for the previous month at the beginning of each month;

· where the total of absences in a year exceeds 7 working days and, where
appropriate:

v provide support for the teacher in relation to any personal difficulties that may
exist;

v consider implementing a supportive absence monitoring program;

· consider the effect of any existing monitoring program on the application or vice
versa;

· recommend to the Chief Executive, where special circumstances exist, that the
teacher undergo a departmental medical examination to ascertain whether the
absence was for reason of illness or injury. Generally time constraints make this
impractical and it would normally be more useful to require that for a specified period
all absences be supported by satisfactory medical certificates.

Applying on Behalf of a Teacher

The principal is to complete an appropriate application for leave when satisfied that the
teacher is ill or injured and is unable (ie, the circumstances make it impossible) to
complete the application personally. (Education Regulation 15).

If a teacher refuses or is unwilling to submit an application for sick leave without pay,
then the principal should pursue disciplinary action (Section 26(1) Education Act).

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Leave Management in Schools – Teachers Sickness

Reason for Absence Not Notified

When the details of and the reason for an absence have not been notified to the school,
the principal is responsible for seeking to contact the person in appropriate ways. If
contact cannot be made or no satisfactory reason is given for the absence then urgent
action should be taken by the principal to suspend the pay of the teacher for the entire
period of absence. Following application, presentation of satisfactory medical
certificates and approval, the necessary adjustments to pay and sick leave entitlements
will be made.

Teacher’s Responsibility
A sick or injured teacher is to:

· notify the school’s nominee of inability to attend work and the likely duration of absence
as a matter of urgency so that satisfactory supervision of students can be provided;

· where possible, regularly keep that person informed of the likely return date and of
tasks which need to be carried out during the absence;

· inform the principal as soon as possible if it is likely that the absence will exceed
current entitlements;

· subject to current leave entitlements:

v complete ED154A
for absences up to 5 consecutive duty days without pay, attach a satisfactory
medical certificate if required (see below) and forward to the principal for approval
as soon as practicable upon resumption of work; or

v complete ED154
for absences exceeding 5 consecutive duty days without pay, attach a satisfactory
medical certificate and forward through the principal for recommendation and
departmental approval as soon as practicable upon resumption of work; or

v complete ED154 as above

for absences of an indefinite nature, attach a satisfactory medical certificate and
apply for the number of days covered by the certificate without pay. This procedure
should be repeated each time a new satisfactory medical certificate is issued as a
matter of urgency.

Each application must include adequate details of why leave without pay is sought and
for what period.

· If applying for sick leave without pay, provide a satisfactory medical certificate as
follows:

v for all absences which are longer than 3 consecutive duty days;

v when instructed by the principal, for absences of 3 consecutive duty days or less;

· participate co-operatively in any sick leave monitoring program set up;

· undergo a medical examination if required by the Chief Executive.

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