Under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), permanent employees (this means full time or part time but not casual employees) have an entitlement to 10 days of paid personal or carer’s leave in each year.
Employees have a right to take paid personal/carer’s leave when:
a. the employee is not fit for work because of a personal illness or injury; or
b. to provide care or support to a member of the employee’s immediate family, or a member of the employee’s household, who requires care or support because of a personal illness or injury, or any unexpected emergency.
Immediate family is also defined in the Fair Work Act. Immediate family means a spouse, de facto partner, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling of the employee or a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling of a spouse or de facto partner of the employee.
Unfortunately, there is no right under the Fair Work Act for paid personal/carer’s leave when a pet is sick.
If it is important to you that you can use personal/carer’s leave when your pet is sick or injured, you will need to negotiate with your employer to include as a term of your employment contract the right to use paid personal/carer’s leave when your pet is unwell or injured.
MORGAN COUZENS LEGAL
