COMCARE OPERATIONAL ADVICE NO 70.
COMPENSATION DURING PERIODS OF RECREATION LEAVE AND SICK LEAVE
Branch Managers
State Managers
Managers, Operations
Managers, Review
Managers, Rehabilitation
State Executive Officers
This should be read in conjunction with Operational Advice 43.
Section 116 of the Act prevents an employee taking any form of paid leave, other than maternity leave, during any period when the employee is on compensation leave. An employee may take sick leave, recreation leave or special leave (in limited circumstances) while in receipt of incapacity payments, but leave credits are debited and he or she receives sick pay or holiday pay only for the hours that the employee would have worked.
Compensation payments MUST continue throughout these periods.
The amount of compensation payable to an employee on leave will continue to be calculated under section 19, based on the earnings the employee would have received IF he or she had worked through the period of leave. This will be relevant not only where an employee is on GRTW, but also where the employee is working full hours but not earning full NWE because of the injury. That is, the compensation "top‑up" will continue to be payable and leave will be debited for the hours the employee would have been working.
The ONLY exception to this would be where an employee goes on leave for a substantial period (greater than 4 weeks) during which time the degree of the employee's incapacity would have changed. The amount an employee is able to earn during a long period of leave might increase to the extent that no compensation, or a lesser amount of compensation, should be payable. However, this is not the same as ceasing compensation payments for administrative reasons during the period of leave.
Except in those cases where the degree of incapacity would change during the period of leave, the amount of weekly compensation calculated under section 19 must continue to be payable while the employee is on leave.
Please ensure that consistency of approach is adopted in these circumstances.
SUE HAMILTON
Deputy Chief Executive Officer
20 April 1990
For information:
Australia Post
Telecom
Defence