QTAD Q&A
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 126 No 3, 9 April 2021, page no.27
I’m looking at picking up a second job on the weekends. Would I need to declare this to my employer?
The QTU recently received advice from the department’s Integrity and Employee Relations HR team that any employment, including employment undertaken outside of normal school hours, should be declared to a supervisor, i.e. your principal. For further information, refer to the department’s “Notification of other employment” procedure (https://ppr.qed.qld.gov.au/attachment/notification-of-other-employment-procedure.pdf).
I have been acting as head of department since the beginning of the year and am due to start maternity leave in mid-Term 2. Do I receive payment of maternity leave at the higher rate?
Your maternity leave should be paid at the higher rate, in accordance with the public service directive on higher duties (https://www.forgov.qld.gov.au/system/files/documents/0420-higher-duties_0.pdf). Section 13.1 states: “An employee on higher duties who takes recreation leave, long service leave or paid parental leave is entitled to be paid for the full period of such leave at the higher duties rate being paid to the employee immediately before the employee takes the leave. This will be the case even where the higher duties arrangement ceases on the last day of duty prior to the leave commencing, or at any point during the leave period.”
Am I able to change paid maternity leave to sick leave?
You can access paid sick leave while on paid parental leave if the period of illness is greater than three consecutive days. You are required to provide medical documentation that outlines the period of illness. Paid parental leave is suspended during the period of sick leave and begins again at the end of the period of sick leave.
You will not lose any of your paid parental leave, as long as there is the capacity to extend it before your planned return to work. Please note that where paid parental leave is being paid at half pay, the sick leave will also be at half pay. The same conditions apply to carer’s leave during paid parental leave, that is, if a member of the family is ill for more than three working days and you provide a medical certificate, the paid parental leave is suspended, and you access carers leave instead. Paid sick leave is not available during unpaid parental leave.
Public holidays during the Easter/autumn vacation period while on paid parental leave
For many years, the QTU and the Department of Education have held differing views on paid parental leave (PPL) during autumn school vacation periods, specifically in relation to whether the Easter public holidays that fall within the autumn school vacation period should be treated as public holidays or as days within the school vacation period. The distinction is important as differing rules apply for PPL purposes under the directive (https://www.forgov.qld.gov.au/system/files/documents/directive-0520-paid-parental-leave.pdf). PPL is inclusive of public holidays (clause 9.1.2) but exclusive of school vacation periods (clause 10.2.5) that fall within the PPL periods. A public holiday within the autumn school vacation period is both a public holiday and a day that falls within a school vacation period. Previously, the department applied the public holiday clause (9.1.2) of the directive and debited Good Friday and Easter Monday from PPL regardless of whether the day/s fell within the school vacation period or not. However, the department decided to amend this practice from the start of 2021. The department will now apply the school vacation period clause (10.2.5) of the directive and will no longer debit PPL on Good Friday and/or Easter Monday, should the public holiday/s fall within the autumn school vacation period.