Absent Without Leave
Teaching Service
Any absence from duty must be authorised. An employee prevented by sudden illness or other emergency from attending his or her place of employment is not regarded as absent without leave if he or she reports the absence as soon as practicable and provides satisfactory evidence that the absence was unavoidable.
Where an employee is absent from duty without leave and the absence was not authorised, the employee is not entitled to salary for that period. Where an employee continues to be absent without approved leave his or her employment may be affected as set out below:
- An employee who is absent from duty without leave for a period of three calendar months (including school vacations) ceases to be an employee in accordance with section 2.4.34 of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006. A person whose employment has been ceased due to an unauthorised absence may apply to the Secretary (or delegate) to be reinstated.
- An education support class employee who is absent from duty without leave for more than 20 working days may be considered to have abandoned their employment which may result in the termination of their employment in accordance with clause 17(5) of the Victorian Government Schools - School Services Officers Agreement, 2004. Such a termination will be treated as a resignation (i.e. termination on the initiative of the employee).
Prior to ceasing/terminating an employee reasonable efforts must be made to contact the person. This should include written notification to the person at their last known address advising that their absence is unauthorised and that failure to report for duty or otherwise explain the absence will result in the employment being ceased or terminated. The date of effect for the cessation/termination must be included in the written notification. It is recommended that any correspondence with the employee be via certified/registered mail.
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