If your practice is planning on temporarily closing down during the holiday season, the Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2020 (Clause 27.5) and the Nurses Award 2020 (Clause 22.7) allows an employer to direct an employee to take annual leave during part or all of this temporary close-down period.
If an employee does not have enough annual leave accrued, you may require them to take annual leave in advance where such requirement is reasonable.
If you require an employee to take annual leave in advance, you must provide the employee with adequate notice in writing. Hence why it is crucial to be organising the operational and staffing needs of your practice now, if you haven't already. It is important to highlight that if a public holiday falls on a day during an employee's period of annual leave, for that day, the employee will not be on annual leave.
The public holidays over the holiday season in Queensland are as follows:
- Christmas Eve (6pm – midnight): Saturday 24 December
- Christmas Day: Sunday 25 December and Tuesday 27 December;
- Boxing Day: Monday 26 December;
- New Year's Day: Sunday 1 January and Monday January 2
Workplace Relations Support |
