Leave policy, Fieldstone Engineering, version 2.0
Leave policy template with the entitlements and rules in one table
A leave policy is not the law restated; it is the business's rules for applying, approving and evidencing leave on top of the law. This one puts every leave type in one table with the entitlement, the notice and the evidence, then spends its pages on the questions managers actually get: shutdowns, excessive balances, cashing out and who approves.
The document, page by page
Every page as it renders and as it prints, with nothing summarised. Read the wording before you reuse it.
Section by section
What each section is for, so you can keep the ones you need and drop the rest.
- Cover
- Title, version 2.0, the approver, effective 1 January 2027 and the review date.
- Purpose and scope
- Who the policy covers and that the NES, award and contract prevail over it.
- Leave types
- Ten leave types in one table: entitlement, notice, evidence and pay.
- Applying for leave
- The leave request form, who approves what, and the 5 working day response.
- Annual leave rules
- Clauses 4.1 to 4.6: the 8 week balance rule, the shutdown, cashing out and 17.5 percent loading.
- Personal leave rules
- Notify by 8 am, the evidence rule, and the return to work conversation.
- Public holidays
- The gazetted list for the usual work location, with substitution by agreement.
- Leave while on leave
- Illness during annual leave converts to personal leave with evidence.
- Records
- Balances on every payslip; payroll answers within 5 working days.
- What this policy does not do
- The policy never reduces a NES, award or contractual entitlement.
- Version history
- Two rows: version, date, what changed and who approved it.
Clauses in this document
Evidence, notice and directions: the rules the law lets an employer set
The National Employment Standards set the entitlements, but they leave the employer room to set process: how leave is requested, how much notice is expected, and what evidence can be asked for, as long as it would satisfy a reasonable person. That gap is what a leave policy is for. This one sets the evidence trigger at 2 consecutive days or a day beside a public holiday, asks for 2 weeks' notice for annual leave over 5 days, and promises an answer within 5 working days. The two directions, shutdown leave and reducing an excessive balance, come from the award, which is why clauses 4.2 and 4.3 name their notice periods and defer to it.
How to adapt this document
For a business with shift workers, the annual leave row already carries the fifth week; add your award's shift definition to section 2 so nobody argues about who qualifies. A retail business replaces the December shutdown with peak trading blackout dates, naming the weeks leave will not normally be approved. A company with no shutdown deletes clause 4.3 and renumbers, leaving the excessive balance rule as the tool for keeping balances down. In every version keep clause 9 as it is: the sentence that the policy never reduces a legal entitlement is what lets you publish rules without restating the law.
What makes this document work
Ten leave types, five columns, one table
Section 2 puts all ten leave types in one table with the entitlement, the notice, the evidence and whether the leave is paid. The answer to "do I need a certificate" becomes a cell rather than a page, and a manager checking a request reads one row.
The two lawful directions carry their notice periods
Clause 4.2 lets the company direct leave when a balance passes 8 weeks, on 8 weeks' written notice, and clause 4.3 sets the 5 day December shutdown on at least 4 weeks' notice. Those are the two directions an employer is generally allowed to give, and each one states its number.
Clause 9 keeps the policy lawful when the award changes
The last clause says the policy never reduces an entitlement under the National Employment Standards, an award or a contract, and that the higher entitlement wins on any conflict. That single sentence is what stops the document going stale the day an award clause moves.
Questions people ask
Can an employer ask for a medical certificate for one day of sick leave?
An employer can ask for evidence that would satisfy a reasonable person, and that can include a single day. A policy's job is to say when the request is automatic: here, 2 or more consecutive days, or a single day either side of a public holiday, with the right to ask otherwise reserved.
Can an employer direct an employee to take annual leave?
In two situations, both in clause 4: an excessive balance, over 8 weeks here, on 8 weeks' written notice, and a shutdown such as the 5 day December closure on 4 weeks' notice. The direction has to be allowed by the applicable award, which is why both clauses defer to it.
What is cashing out annual leave?
Being paid for leave instead of taking it. Under most awards it needs a separate written agreement for each occasion, the employee must keep at least 4 weeks of leave after the payment, and no more than 2 weeks can be cashed out in any 12 months. Clause 4.4 carries all three numbers.
Do casual employees get leave?
Not annual or paid personal leave, which is what the casual loading compensates for. Casuals do get unpaid carer's leave, compassionate leave and paid family and domestic violence leave, and the table in section 2 shows the types that apply to them.
How long do leave records have to be kept?
Employee records, including leave taken and leave balances, must be kept for 7 years. This policy handles the visible half of that in section 8: balances appear on every payslip, payroll answers a balance question within 5 working days, and the approval trail for each request stays in the leave system. Keeping the record and showing it to the employee are two different obligations, and the policy names who owns each one.
What happens if the policy says less than the award?
The award applies. Clause 9 says the policy never reduces an entitlement under the National Employment Standards, an award, an enterprise agreement or a contract, so the higher entitlement wins and the rest of the policy keeps working around it. That one clause is why a policy written once can stay in place while awards change, and it is the first thing to copy into any policy you adapt from this example.
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