Leave Application Form

Can I stop an employee taking annual leave?

Victoria Quayle ||

It should go without saying that employees should apply for leave and have it approved by their employer before booking any flights, accommodation, tours or activities. But what happens if an employee applies for leave after they’ve booked, or disregard your leave rejection and take time off anyway? Businesses have policies outlining what an employee needs to do before they take that overseas trip, have a day off for some RnR, or can also specify periods where leave will not be granted, such as Christmas and around the New Year.

In Innes v Central Milk Supplies [2019], the Fair Work Commission (FWC) found the employer was justified in terminating an employees’ employment because he knew about the company’s prohibited leave periods, and could have made alternate arrangements but chose to ignore the policies and go on leave, despite the company’s written rejection and knowing that his absence could result in termination.

The Facts

Innes was engaged by Central Milk Supplies (CMS) as a part-time driver who delivered milk. At the start of 2018, Innes had a conversation with the owner, Mr Pickering, where he asked for leave at the end of the year to see his wife’s family in the Philippines. At the time, Mr Pickering indicated that “It should be ok, I’ll look into it”.

A few days after this, Innes was asked to formally complete and submit a leave request form. The form was eventually returned but was rejected by Ms Sullivan on the basis that the leave requested fell within the “prohibited leave period” and no leave is approved during that time. This was captured in the leave policy and Innes’ contract.

Innes received a Correction Action Document for failure to comply with leave application procedures and was directed to submit a revised leave form. He never did.

On 19 December 2018, Innes sent Mr Pickering an email confirming that he was travelling overseas to the Philippines and would be off work for three weeks. Various emails were exchanged between Innes, Mr Pickering and Ms Sullivan about Innes being on leave when he wasn’t supposed to be.

The Outcome

CMS terminated his employment effective immediately on 11 January 2019, on the basis that he was absent from work, without approval and without a legitimate reason or excuse and he had blatantly disregarded CMS’ leave policy.

The FWC found that CMS did have a valid reason to terminate Innes’ employment and the fact that Innes wasn’t provided with an opportunity to respond before a decision was made, wasn’t fatal. The FWC was of the view that both parties knew what the others position was and Innes “was hell bent on travelling overseas, when he did, regardless of the consequences”.

Dealing with Leave Requests

Leave policies must be clear and consistently applied across the business. If your business has extremely busy periods throughout the year, it is important to outline what these dates are and that leave will not be approved, except in extenuating circumstances.

If your business is approaching your “excluded leave period” it is important to remind staff about this well in advance, so expectations are set. A way of doing this is having a staff meeting to set expectations or post a memo about leave on a noticeboard in a common area, like a lunchroom.

If you receive requests for annual leave at any time throughout the year, it is important to consider them on a case-by-case basis.

If you need to reject a request on reasonable business grounds, state the reasons why in writing. Before formally rejecting the request, you may want to give the employee a head’s up and try and agree on alternative dates where leave can be taken.

Formally rejecting an employee’s leave application with written reasons will place you in good stead if you need to proceed with taking disciplinary action against an employee when they take leave anyway.

If you have any questions about this article or need advice on approving or rejecting an annual leave request, or would like to speak with a lawyer in Coleman Greig’s Employment Law team, please don’t hesitate to get in touch today:

Share:

Send an enquiry

Any personal information you provide is collected pursuant to our Privacy Policy.

Categories
Archives
Author

More posts

A guide to intrafamily adoption

Adoption is the process where a parent’s legal rights for their child are transferred to another person. The formal adoption of a stepchild or close relative is known as intrafamily adoption.

Passenger movement and visa data-matching by the ATO

Heading overseas for work or a holiday? Taxation issues, including tax residency, should be on front of mind when departing from or arriving to Australia. Why? Because the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) can follow your footprints and, if you’re not careful, spring unexpected taxes on you.

Is it really necessary for my executor to have so many powers?

People often question why the executor of their estate needs to have so many powers. Simply put – if your executor isn’t given any additional powers by your Will, then they are limited to what is set out in the Trustee Act. One area that this can lead to issues in, is the family home – particularly if beneficiaries aren’t in agreement.

Essential terms of a commercial lease

A commercial lease is a contract that details the rights and obligations of a tenant and landlord. So, what are the necessary terms of a commercial lease?

Responding to data breaches

In the final part of our four-part series on your business’ responsibilities related to cyber attacks and data breaches, Special Counsel John Bennett how businesses should respond to data breaches, including application and requirements of the Notifiable Data Breaches Scheme.

Security of personal information

Part 3 of a four-part series on your business’ responsibilities related to cyber attacks and data breaches where Special Counsel, John Bennett provides an overview of some court decisions and proceedings where ‘security’ of personal information has come into issue.

Parental alienation in Family Law

The concept, Parental Alienation Syndrome, was initially brought about by American psychiatrist Richard Gardner in 1985. The term parental alienation is used to describe a situation where one parent is involved in psychologically manipulating their child to turn against the other parent.

Are you liable for labour hire workers if they are injured?

Many employers (host employers) engage employees of labour hire companies, particularly in the building and construction, hospitality and manufacturing industries. However, what happens when one of these employees gets injured at the host employer’s work site? Who is liable for the injuries?

The risks with cyber attacks and data breaches

Part 1 of a four-part series on your business’ responsibilities related to cyber attacks and data breaches. Cyber attacks and data breaches are the top business risk in Australia according to Aon’s 2023 Global Risk Management Survey.

© 2024 Coleman Greig Lawyers  |  Sitemap  |  Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation. ABN 73 125 176 230