Queensland Consolidated Acts

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 2016 - SECT 48

48 Entitlement—casual employees

(1) A long term casual employee is entitled to—

(a) at least 2 days unpaid bereavement leave on each occasion when—

(i) a member of the employee’s immediate family or household dies; or

(ii) the employee, or the employee’s spouse, is pregnant and the pregnancy ends other than by the birth of a living child; and

(b) if the employee reasonably requires extra time to travel to and from the funeral or other ceremony for the death—an amount of unpaid bereavement leave equal to the time reasonably required for the travel.

(2) A short term casual employee is entitled to be unavailable to attend work for—

(a) at least 2 days on unpaid bereavement leave on each occasion when—

(i) a member of the employee’s immediate family or household dies; or

(ii) the employee, or the employee’s spouse, is pregnant and the pregnancy ends other than by the birth of a living child; and

(b) if the employee reasonably requires extra time to travel to and from the funeral or other ceremony for the death—an amount of unpaid bereavement leave equal to the time reasonably required for the travel.

(3) Also, a casual employee is entitled to 2 days unpaid compassionate leave on each occasion when a member of the employee’s immediate family or household—

(a) contracts or develops a personal illness that poses a serious threat to the person’s life; or

(b) sustains a personal injury that poses a serious threat to the person’s life.

(4) The employer must not fail to re-engage a casual employee only because the employee has taken bereavement leave or compassionate leave under this section.

(5) However, the rights of an employer not to re-engage a casual employee are not otherwise affected.