Casual workers are entitled to take unpaid sick leave. Do I need a medical certificate? Many workplace Agreements provide for two single-day absences annually without the need for a medical certificate. After this, employees can be asked to provide either a medical certificate or a Statutory Declaration.
Can I be sacked for taking sick leave? If you are away for more than 3 months, you cannot be sacked if you have taken paid sick leave. But if you took unpaid sick leave or a combination of paid and unpaid leave for more than 3 months in a year, your employer is entitled to dismiss you.
Not all casual employees can choose their own hours. Your employer will probably offer you hours to suit their business opening hours and busiest times. You can turn down a shift, but if you do it too often it might mean your employer offers you less shifts in the future.
Protection from dismissal for taking sick leave
Employees who can provide evidence of their illness or injury are protected from being dismissed because of their absence if they're: away for less than 3 consecutive months or less than 3 months in total over the last 12 months, or. still using their paid sick leave.
As a general rule, an employee cannot be dismissed without due notice. Employers are required by law to give employees written notices of termination to prevent any legal liability.
Casual employees don't get paid time off, but can ask their employer about taking unpaid leave for holidays.
10 days paid leave for casual employees at a non-small business employer. 5 days unpaid leave for casual employees at a small business employer.
If your company uses emails or phone calls to communicate when you are outside of the office, just follow the crowd; do the same. But if they have not decided on that yet, use common sense. If your boss is also your friend, and you communicated with them through text before, then it is totally fine to text in sick.
Normally, 12 sick days might not ring any alarm bells. An employee could legitimately require 12 days off due to severe illness or surgery. But a sick day every month just before a weekend does suggest a pattern of undesirable behaviour.
The right to refuse
Some employment contracts may specify a minimum notice period for refusing a shift, such as 24 or 48 hours. While there is no legal requirement for casual employees to provide a specific amount of notice, it is generally considered good practice to give your employer as much notice as possible.
There are over 120 modern awards. However, the minimum hours for shift work in most industries is 3 to 4 hours. This means that even if you schedule an employee for a two-hour shift, you must pay them for at least three hours of labour.
If you feel an employee is calling in sick too often, you can absolutely discipline them in line with your company policy on absenteeism—for example, by having human resources give them a written warning, which you keep in their personnel file, or making them ineligible for a performance bonus.
Generally, there's no minimum amount of time you may take off that employers won't ask for a medical certificate. An employer can ask for evidence in support of leave at any stage. If the employee can't provide it, the employer may refuse to pay out their sick leave entitlements.
Asking your employees why they are sick can feel uncomfortable and, at times, taboo. However, as an employer, you are afforded certain rights in this regard under the Fair Work Act 2009. In certain circumstances, you are within your right to ask an employee why they are sick and request proof of their illness.
If you exceed your sick or stress leave without wider discussion, you could face a range of disciplinary actions, from warnings to suspension to the termination of your contract. If you are no longer fit to carry out your role, they are well within the rights to bring your employment to a close.
Not if you are really sick, after three days you should see a Doctor to find out what is going on, and how to process to return to health.
Yes, taking a sick day once per month is typically acceptable.
Yes, you should apologize for calling in sick.
If you can, ask if there's anything you can do to help from home and invite your team to contact you with any questions they may have.
If it's late at night or you know your boss in is in a meeting, a text can be intrusive and disruptive, says Shah. "For information that can wait, use email so your boss can decide when to respond."
It's better to simply say you won't be in and leave it at that. It is good form to explain why you won't be coming in, but you don't necessarily have to share any specifics of your illness. Providing lengthy explanations as to why you can't come to work also might give the impression you are exaggerating or lying.
Casual workers are not entitled to most forms of paid leave or notice of termination pay. However, they are entitled to a safe workplace, freedom from discrimination, and unpaid parental leave.
Casuals are not required to provide notice when terminating their employment under the Fair Work Act. However, if a modern Award, Enterprise Agreement or employment contract applies to you, it may provide different notice requirements.