Your workplace rights during a disaster

You are entitled to paid annual leave. You will accrue 4 weeks of annual leave per year. If you are a shift worker you will accrue 5 weeks of annual leave per year. Annual leave is cumulative from year to year, that means if you do not take all of your leave in one year, the untaken leave is added to your entitlements in the next year, and so on.

Your employer can require you to take annual leave at a particular time, if the requirement is reasonable. It may be reasonable for your employer to direct you to take annual leave during a disaster or an emergency if you are not able to work and you do not ask to take some other form of leave.

Casual employees do not get annual leave.

You can take paid personal / carer’s leave in the following situations:

• when you are not fit for work because of sickness or injury; or
• when you provide care or support for a family or household member who is sick or injured or who is affected by an emergency. The family member must be part of your immediate family. 

You are entitled to 10 days of paid personal/carer’s leave every year, and the balance is cumulative from year to year.

Casual employees do not get paid personal/carer’s leave. However, casuals can still take unpaid time off from work when they are sick or caring for a family or household member.

You can take unpaid carer’s leave to provide care or support for a family or household member who is sick or injured, or affected by an emergency. The family member must be part of your immediate family.

You can take up to 2 days off for each occasion.

You must first take any paid carer’s leave you have accumulated before taking unpaid carer’s leave.

This entitlement applies to casual employees as well.

You can take paid compassionate leave when a member of your immediate family or a member of your household has a life threatening illness or injury, or dies. You can take up to 2 days off for each occasion.

Casual employees do not get paid compassionate leave. However casual employees can take unpaid time off from work for compassionate reasons.

You are entitled to take unpaid leave to engage in voluntary emergency management activities. For this form of leave to apply all of the following must be happening:

• your activity must involve dealing with an emergency or disaster; you must be a volunteer;
• you must be a member of a recognised emergency management organisation  (or have a similar type of association with that organisation); and
• the organisation must have somehow requested you to engage in the activity. This includes where it is reasonable to expect that you would have received the request if circumstances permitted. For example, there was not enough time to make the formal request but you responded to the emergency anyway.

The period of unpaid leave you can take includes the following times:

• the time you are engaged in the emergency management activity;
• reasonable travel time; and
• reasonable rest time immediately after the activity.

All employees are entitled to paid long service leave after working for the same employer or the same business for 10 years. Employees are entitled to 1 month of long service leave for each 5 years of service.

You could take paid or unpaid carer’s leave if you live with someone else. This leave is available to provide care and support where a member of your family or household is affected by an unexpected emergency such as a disaster.

If you live alone, you could discuss with your employer taking annual leave, unpaid leave or long service leave.

Yes, you could take paid or unpaid carer’s leave.

You can take paid personal leave. If you are a casual employee you can take unpaid leave.

 You may be able to take community service leave to take part in emergency management activities. You can check if you are eligible for community service leave by reading the information aboveunder "Community Service leave".

If you are not eligible for community service leave, you could discuss with your employer taking annual leave, unpaid leave or long service leave.

Generally your employer does not have to pay you if you don’t attend work in these circumstances. However, you could discuss with your employer taking annual leave or long service leave. If a family or household member is also affected by the emergency then you can take paid or unpaid carers leave if you are also caring for them.

Under the Fair Work Act your employer can stand you down without pay if you cannot usefully work because there is:

• a breakdown of machinery; or
• work stops.

However, this can only apply where ‘your employer cannot reasonably be held responsible’ for the situation. For example, your employer closes the workplace because of a fire nearby or flood waters. A stand down without pay cannot occur just because there are no customers or business is ‘slow’. If you are sent home in these circumstances you are still entitled to be paid.

If you are stood down from work without pay, you can take annual leave, or discuss with your employer whether you can take some other form of leave. If it will be a long period of leave without pay then long service leave may be an option for you.

Your employer can require you to take annual leave at a particular time, if the requirement is reasonable. If an Award or Enterprise Agreement that applies to you includes a provision about stand down, your employer can only stand you down in accordance with that provision.

If you are a casual employee and you are not called into work then your employer does not have to pay you. If you are stood down without pay, you can contact Centrelink on 13 28 50 to find out if you are eligible for any financial assistance. Centrelink may have representatives that you can talk to at a ‘disaster recovery centre’.

Yes, if the work your employer requests you to do is lawful and reasonable. Whether or  not the request is reasonable will depend on factors including your skills, experience, health and any disabilities. Some tasks may also require specific safety training, equipment and procedures. While you are at work, your employer is required to ensure your health and safety. You cannot be directed to perform work that is unsafe or where you do not have the necessary safety equipment and safety procedures in place.

Yes, if the direction is reasonable. If your employer directs you to attend a different work location which takes longer or is more expensive for you to travel to, you may be eligible for additional pay for travel time or reimbursement for your travel expenses.

In general, if you work additional hours you should get paid for them, at the rate in the Award or Enterprise Agreement that applies to you. You may also be entitled to other payments if you are working overtime, such as meal allowances.

You can find out your overtime rates and any other payments you are entitled to by checking your Award or Enterprise Agreement.

If you have a written contract of employment, you should also check it for any relevant provisions. If you are an employee who earns a salary you may not be entitled to overtime and allowances.

Casual employees generally work only when their employer offers shifts which the employee then works. Casual employees tend to work irregular shifts and their hours change from week to week. Casual employees should have been informed by their employer that they are a casual employee under an Award or Enterprise Agreement, and should be paid the casual pay rates which include a casual loading. Working out whether you are a causal employee or a permanent employee can be complicated. If you need specific advice on this issue, you should consult a lawyer or contact the Fair Work Ombudsman.