FAQs: Leave Entitlements

Queensland Health

 
Thanks to the QNMU, public sector nurses and midwives will continue to have access to paid pandemic leave, protecting your paid sick leave for non-COVID illnesses. The paid pandemic leave entitlement was due to expire at the end of June 2023, meaning Queensland Health (QH) would have treated COVID-19 like any other infectious disease so far as staff accessing their sick leave was concerned. But under QH’s Managing Healthcare Workers Exposed to or with COVID-19 guidelines , health care workers are still required to exclude themselves from the workplace if they are COVID-19 positive or are ‘close contacts’ of someone who is COVID-19 positive.

This requirement does not apply to other non-health care workers, so it is only fair there be special provisions in place for health care workers. The QNMU put this to the Director-General of Queensland Health, stating nurses and midwives found it wholly inappropriate and unfair that their paid pandemic leave entitlement would be taken away. Shortly after, the Director-General informed the QNMU that paid pandemic leave would be extended until there was a change to QH’s guidelines.
These guidelines are to be reviewed in line with the review of national isolation requirements guidelines by the Communicable Diseases Network of Australia.
 

Private sector

 
Full-time and part-time private sector employees who contract COVID-19 through their work should check if their employer has a policy in relation to pandemic leave. They may need to access personal leave, just as they would in the event of becoming unwell from a cold or flu.
 
You can also make an application for Workers Compensation if you have a medical opinion that your illness was caused by exposure in the workplace. While waiting for a decision on your claim you can use sick leave. If your WorkCover claim is subsequently granted after using your sick leave, you can then seek to have this sick leave recouped.

Various leave entitlements are available for long-term and short-term casual workers employed by Queensland Health. View this Queensland Government leave flowchart  to see what leave entitlements apply in various scenarios.

Unfortunately, most casual nurses and midwives employed in the private, aged care and other sectors do not have access to paid sick leave or other types of paid leave.

 
Agency nurses and midwives may be employed on a contract, and should therefore check their entitlements contained within their contract.
 
Faced with the possibility of not receiving an income for an extended period of time, it is easy to understand why many casual/agency workers may decide to continue working even if they are sick or suspect they have been exposed to COVID-19.
 
However, the QNMU encourages casual/agency nurses and midwives not to do this. Increased presenteeism (ie: showing up to work while sick) may increase the spread of COVID-19, putting your patients/residents and your colleagues at risk.
 
It’s also important to note that your employer cannot terminate your employment or stop giving you shifts simply because you were sick.