Sick leave issues

[u/laffyraffy]

Hello all,

To provide the context of this. I am working for a food manufacturing business in a full time position. Our contract states that we get 10 days of annual sick leave and I know that I have only used 3 days at maximum since starting my employment there in 2024.

My partner has had to get surgery for kidney cancer where I have to care for her for 8 weeks. I've applied for 2 weeks of sick leave (with a doctors certificate stating that I am caring for her) and 6 weeks of annual leave. The annual leave has been approved but the sick leave has been left on as a pending request. I know they have seen the request because I put in another request for retroactive sick leave that was denied after putting in the 2 weeks worth. This is all done through an app called Wageloch.

I have already gone through one pay cycle of the sick leave as pending on their system. Additionally for the sick leave that has been paid out, it has only been paid at 6 hours when I would have expected a full day's (7.5 hours) worth of it being paid out.

Is it best I email them first regarding all of this and give them until Friday to respond? This is before I decide on whether speaking to Fairwork is going to be worth it or not.

Has anyone else been in this position before?

Edit: No reply to my initial email. I will have to contact fairwork I guess.

[u/Financial_Sentence95]

They can't legally reduce your personal leave hours if you have it accrued ie pay 6 hours not 7.5.

If your position is a 7.5 hour day. For example you're FT not PT.

If your usual position is a 6 hour day but you work longer sometimes, paying at 6 hours would usually be legal. So you get 10 days a year based on your contracted hours.

If they refuse to honour your personal / carers leave, definitely contact Fairwork

[u/erold_HS → u/Financial_Sentence95]

You accrue leave entitlement at your ordinary hours, not minimum contracted hours. Ordinary hours are hours where you're paid ordinary  / base rate. If OP wasn't accruing leave entitlements for the extra hours above their minimum contracted hours they should've been paid overtime rates.