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Sick Leave
As winter slowly creeps our way and the leaves gradually lose their depth of colour, it is normal to have an increase of sick leave applications in the workforce.
Current New Zealand legislation allows for 5 days of sick leave each year after the first six months of continuous service.
Here is some information about sick leave.
* An employee can carry over unused sick leave into the next year.
* The maximum accumulation is 20 days.
* Sick leave can be used when the employee is injured or ill, or a dependent is injured or ill.
* An employee will only be entitled to be paid for a sick leave day if it is their "ordinary working day".
* You must let employees use sick leave to care for a spouse, partner, dependent child, elderly parent or other dependent person.
* You are required to pay employees what they’d usually earn for the days they’re on sick leave. This is what we call Relevant Daily Pay. If Relevant Daily Pay can not be ascertained then an employer can use Average Daily Pay.
* You should always have records showing the date and hours of sick leave taken.
You can of course allow for greater benefits than the legislation.
If you have questions in regards to sick leave, please contact me.
In the meantime, it is a good time to stock up on plenty of Vitamin C, fluids and of course a ready supply of tissues.