An employee (including a casual employee) is entitled to two days of compassionate leave to spend time with a member of the employee's immediate family or household who has sustained a life-threatening illness or injury. Compassionate leave may also be taken after the death of a member of the employee's immediate family or household.
An employee may take compassionate leave for each occasion as:
- a single continuous two day period, or
- two separate periods of one day each, or
- any separate periods to which the employee and his or her employer agree.
If an employee, other than a casual employee, takes a period of compassionate leave, the employer must pay the employee at the employee’s base rate of pay for the ordinary hours they would have worked during the period of leave.