Employment Resources
Registrar Leave Entitlements
WHY DOES THE NTCER REFER TO FOUR WEEKS, TWO WEEKS AND 7.69% WHEN DISCUSSING ANNUAL LEAVE?
Like all employees covered by the National Employment Standards (NES), registrars are entitled to 4 weeks annual leave for every 12 months worked. As many registrars stay with their employer for one Semester – ie 6 months – they are entitled to 2 weeks annual leave from that employer.
The registrar’s hours may not be equal from day to day; therefore there needs to be a mechanism to ensure the appropriate leave is accrued and noted on payslips. As employees covered by the NTCER, registrars receive annual leave at the fraction of 4/52 or 4 weeks per 52 week year. When calculated as a decimal, this equates to 7.69%.
WHY WOULD WE NEED TO KNOW THAT 7.69% IS THE ENTITLEMENT?
Imagine if a registrar asked for an afternoon off as annual leave.
The afternoon in question was 1pm – 5pm, a total of 4 hours annual leave. If the registrar works their 38 hours/week over 4.5 days, it might be difficult to determine how many hours leave they have remaining. By using the %, the payroll system allocated 1 hour as annual leave for every 13 weeks earned – ie 7.69% of the total hours.
WE HAVE JUST INTERVIEWED A REGISTRAR THAT WE REALLY LIKE, BUT THEY WANT TO TAKE THE FIRST 2 WEEKS OF THE SEMESTER AS ANNUAL LEAVE. WE ARE HAPPY TO GIVE THEM THAT TIME, BUT WHY DO WE HAVE TO PAY FOR THIS AS THEY WON’T HAVE ACCRUED ANY LEAVE YET?
Clause 6.2 of the NTCER refers to this matter.
Registrars are able to access annual leave that has not yet accrued. This must be documented and we suggest the template provided by the Fair Work Ombudsman be used for this purpose.
TAKE THE FIRST 2 WEEKS OF THE SEMESTER AS ANNUAL LEAVE. WE ARE HAPPY TO GIVE THEM THAT TIME, BUT WHY DO WE HAVE TO PAY FOR THIS AS THEY WON’T HAVE ACCRUED ANY LEAVE YET?
Clause 6.3 of the NTCER provides clarity here.
The employer is entitled to deduct the difference between the amount owing and the amount paid from the employee’s final pay. There is no provision to enforce the repayment of any overpayment.
The biggest period of risk is if the registrar takes the first 2 weeks of the Semester as annual leave and then, within the next two week period, decides to leave the placement. There will be insufficient wages owing to the registrar to cover the entire amount of annual leave already paid. Businesses should be aware of this risk, but it should be weighed against the goodwill gained by allowing the registrar to plan their holidays at a time that suits them.
IS THE REGISTRAR ALLOWED TO TAKE PERSONAL LEAVE (SICK/CARER’S) LEAVE IN ADVANCE OF ACCRUING IT?
As for annual leave, the registrar is allowed to access this type of leave early. The same protections apply as they do to annual leave – ie. an agreement should be entered into AND the business should be aware of the risks; however, unlike annual leave, the employer does not have the same right to refuse personal leave.
WHAT RATE IS ANNUAL LEAVE PAID AT?
Annual leave is paid at the registrar’s base rate of pay.
HOW DO I ACCOUNT FOR ANNUAL LEAVE WHEN DETERMINING WHETHER A ‘TOP UP’ PAYMENT IS REQUIRED UNDER SCHEDULE A?
Annual leave is treated in the same manner as ordinary wages.
The total amount of wages paid for the period is compared to the amount that would be payable using the agreed % in the registrar’s contract (minimum 44.79% per the NTCER).
If the % calculation results in a greater amount, the registrar receives a ‘top up’. If the wages are higher than the %, no further adjustment is made.
During times of annual leave, it is likely that there will be no ‘top up’ payment required.
THE REGISTRAR IS ASKING FOR STUDY LEAVE. THEY HAVE TOLD US THAT ‘ALL THE PEOPLE IN THEIR STUDY GROUP ARE RECEIVING PAID STUDY LEAVE’. IS THIS AN ENTITLEMENT?
There is no entitlement to either paid or unpaid study leave under the NTCER, but some GPSA members have offered access to study leave as part of their remuneration package when negotiating with a registrar they believe will be a good fit for their practice.
Should a practice wish to provide either paid or unpaid study leave, they should ensure the registrar understands the potential impact that this may have on their training time and plan ahead to avoid unnecessary interruption to patient access.
WE ARE CLOSED ON PUBLIC HOLIDAYS. DO I HAVE TO PAY THE REGISTRAR FOR THIS DAY?
Like all permanent employees, if the registrar is normally rostered to work on a Public Holiday, they are entitled to be paid for that day.
WE OPEN ON PUBLIC HOLIDAYS AND THE REGISTRAR IS ROSTERED TO WORK ON ONE OF THEM. HOW DO WE PAY THEM?
If the registrar normally works on that day of the week, they receive their normal pay and are entitled to equivalent time off in lieu. Eg. If the registrar normally works 8 hours on a Monday, but work 4 hours on a Monday which is a public holiday, they are entitled to 8 hours pay and 4 hours paid time off in lieu.
Alternatively, the registrar would be paid at the rate of 150% of their base rate for the hours worked, and no time off in lieu. They would also be entitled to payment for 4 hours at the base rate of pay.
It is important for the practice and registrar to agree to the method of payment for public holidays before the commencement of the employment term, documenting this in the registrar’s employment contract.
WE CLOSE FOR 2 WEEKS OVER CHRISTMAS. CAN WE DIRECT THE REGISTRAR TO TAKE LEAVE AT THIS TIME?
Yes, if your practice shuts down between Christmas and New Year and it is not operating and there are no patients, no staff working and no work for the registrar to do, then you can require the registrar to take annual leave during this period.
This should be supported by the practice’s policies and must be discussed with the registrar prior to them signing the employment agreement.
If the registrar hasn’t accrued enough leave they can discuss with the practice taking paid annual leave in advance of accrual or taking unpaid leave. Registrars taking additional unpaid leave should check with their training provider about any possible impact on training time.
THE REGISTRAR HAS REQUESTED ANNUAL LEAVE DURING SCHOOL HOLIDAYS, BUT WE ARE REALLY SHORT OF DOCTORS THEN. THEY WANT THIS TIME OFF BECAUSE THEIR PARTNER IS A SCHOOL TEACHER. CAN WE REFUSE THEIR REQUEST?
As with all employees, applications for annual leave should not be refused if doing so would be unreasonable.
Whilst workforce factors should be considered, the employees ability to take time off with their spouse should also be considered. This is a time where compromise and common sense should be used.
Perhaps a compromise could be reached and 1 week be allowed during school holidays and one week outside of school holidays. Alternatively, a compromise may be suggested to some/all of the other GPs in the practice. Flexibility and collegiality should be encouraged.
THE REGISTRAR HAS SAID THAT THEY DON’T WANT TO TAKE ANY HOLIDAYS AS THEY NEED EXTRA MONEY. THEY WOULD LIKE TO WORK THE FULL 26 WEEKS OF THE SEMESTER AND BE PAID OUT THEIR ANNUAL LEAVE AT THE END OF THE PLACEMENT. IS THIS OK?
Clause 6.1 states that employees may be paid out their annual leave at the conclusion of their fixed term contract. However, employers should consider their responsibilities in respect to fatigue management before agreeing to this.
The registrar will have worked for 6 months without a break and will likely be commencing another 6-month placement. You should be comfortable this will not impact on the safety of the registrar or their patients before agreeing to do this.
You should also consider your obligations for teaching and supervision. If you are not able to provide the required teaching and supervision for 26 weeks, you may require the registrar to take their leave, rather than paying it out.
WE ARE A ONE GP PRACTICE, TAKING ON A GPT 2 REGISTRAR. DOES THE REGISTRAR HAVE TO TAKE LEAVE WHEN THE SUPERVISOR DOES?
This should be openly discussed during the interview phase and clearly documented in the employment contract.
If the supervisor wished to take 2 weeks leave during the Semester, the registrar would be required to take this time off too as appropriate teaching and supervision would not be available.
WHERE DO WE GO FOR INFORMATION ON OTHER TYPES OF LEAVE?
Compassionate Leave, Parental Leave and Family and Domestic Violence Leave are all addressed under clause 6 of the NTCER.
If, after reading the NTCER you have questions regarding these types of leave or questions relating to Community Service Leave and Jury leave, we recommend you refer to the National Employment Standards.
Date reviewed: 16 September 2024