QTAD Q & A

Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 127 No number 4, 3 June 2022, page no. 29

We have received an email from admin today indicating that staff need to provide a medical certificate if we are away sick on a day before/after a public holiday, and on a day before/after school vacation. Is this accurate?

A medical certificate or suitable documentation is only required for sick leave of more than three days’ duration. If you are subject to a formal process for monitoring performance, conduct or attendance, the Director-General may require that a medical certificate is provided to support any sick leave for periods of three days or less. 

There is no requirement to furnish medical documentation for sick leave where illness results in an absence either side of a public holiday or school vacations, or for schools to develop their own policy regarding sick leave and medical certificates. 

I have heard that there is an additional credit of sick leave available after working 26 years. Is that correct? How do I apply? 

An additional credit of 65 working days of sick leave on full pay may be added to the sick leave account of a teacher in full-time employment, provided that:

• the teacher has completed 26 years of meritorious service within the Queensland public sector 
• the service counts towards long service leave accrual. 
   

N.B. to be recognised for this purpose, the service need not be continuous, but it must count for long service leave accrual, i.e. service or leave which is recognised for accrual of entitlements (paid leave and minimum periods of unpaid leave as per the “Leave without salary credited as service” public service directive (https://www.forgov.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0031/187852/0119-leave-without-salary-credited-as-service.pdf).

Part-time employees or employees who have completed the required period of service through a combination of permanent full-time, part-time or temporary engagements are eligible for meritorious sick leave on a pro-rata basis. 

An application for this special credit should be made through an electronic form available on OnePortal. It should be noted that the date of application is processed as the “end date” for the purpose of assessing employment history, therefore only the most recent 26 years’ service is used to calculate the meritorious sick leave. 

There is no requirement to exhaust existing sick leave before making an application.

I need to leave early for a medical appointment next week, is there a minimum amount of sick leave I have to take?

It is the department’s custom and practice that the minimum period of deduction is 15 minutes and sick leave can be processed in 15-minute increments in excess of this minimum.

Should I be expected to plan lessons if I am on sick leave?

While there is no firm DoE policy on this matter, the Union believes each case of teacher absence needs to be considered on its merits. Members should be encouraged to submit planning whenever possible but should also know there are exceptions to the rule, eg when a teacher is ill or caring for a family member who is ill.

It would be reasonable to expect planning where there is a planned absence. The length of (planned) absence should determine the detail of planning that is provided.