Disregarded sick leave
Disregarded sick leave allows sick leave, in specific circumstances, to be recredited to a support staff member’s sick leave entitlement.
Disregarded sick leave was agreed to as part of the 2022 and 2023 settlements of the Support Staff in Schools’, Kaiārahi i te Reo and Therapists’, School Caretakers’, Cleaners’ and Canteen Staff and Special Residential Schools’ Collective Agreements.
This means that staff who fall under the coverage of these agreements who contract a notifiable infectious disease (as listed in Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the Health Act 1956open_in_new) and are required to isolate, either at the direction of a public health official or order, may be eligible for disregarded sick leave.
Disregarded sick leave does not apply to leave taken before the employee became eligible. This means that it will not apply:
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If a union member – to leave taken before the respective Collective Agreement was signed, or
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If not a union member – the date the employee signed the updated promulgated Individual Employment Agreement.
If an eligible staff member has been diagnosed with a notifiable infectious disease and is directed to isolate, they can request the sick leave be disregarded at the conclusion of their absence.
Disregarded sick leave only applies when the eligible staff member themselves is sick with a notifiable infectious disease.
It does not apply to leave taken to care for dependents.
Only leave entered as sick leave may be disregarded.
COVID-19
Self-isolation for COVID-19 is no longer a legal requirement. This means an employee can no longer apply for COVID-19-related sick leave to be disregarded.
Employees now take standard sick leave for illness caused by COVID-19, including the five-day recommended isolation periodopen_in_new.
How to apply for disregarded sick leave
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When the employee returns to work, the affected eligible staff member must ask their school or kura to process and approve disregarded sick leave on their behalf.
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The same application process for disregarded sick leave that applies to permanent employees should be used for fixed-term workers.
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The school or kura must send a completed online application formopen_in_new to the Ministry of Education for processing.
Step 1 – Evidence of eligible staff member’s positive test result
Schools and kura should seek evidence that the eligible staff member has tested positive for a notifiable disease and is required to take sick leave during the period they are instructed to isolate.
The school or kura should store this as part of the staff member’s personnel records.
Step 2 – Fill in the online application form
Schools and kura will need to use their Education Sector Login to complete the online application formopen_in_new.
To access the application form, users will need to update their Education Service Login (ESL) credentials.
This update only needs to happen once; a checklist can be found below.
Templates, resources, and references
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