COVID-19 Special Leave – Teaching Service

Policy and Guidelines

Context

The Department of Health has issued public health advice strongly recommending that individuals who test positive to COVID-19 isolate at home. In relation to school staff, this means that staff:

• who test positive to COVID-19 should stay home and isolate for 5 days
• should not attend after 5 days if still symptomatic
• who are symptomatic but have not tested positive should not attend school.

Entitlement

Teaching service employees who test positive for COVID-19 are able to apply for up to 5 days of special leave, in addition to existing personal leave entitlements. COVID-19 special leave is available to cover each occasion that an employee tests positive for COVID-19.

COVID-19 special leave covers any recommended isolation period (up to 5 days from the date of testing positive to COVID-19) that coincides with an employee’s usual scheduled duties. For example:

• if days one and 2 of isolation fall on a weekend where the employee does not have usual duties, then the employee may apply for 3 days of leave to cover the remainder of the recommended isolation period
• part-time employees may apply for leave to cover the relevant days that they are not able to attend for normal duties due to a recommended isolation period.

To demonstrate their eligibility to access COVID-19 special leave an employee needs to provide evidence of their positive test result in eduPay, such as:

• a picture of their positive rapid antigen test
• a copy of a text message confirming a positive PCR test result
• a certificate from a medical practitioner.

Staff who are unable to return to work due to being unwell and who have already taken special leave to cover their 5 days of recommended isolation may access personal leave for the duration of the time that they are unfit for duty, with a medical certificate.

Remote work

Nothing precludes a teaching service employee who tests positive to COVID-19 from performing remote work during the recommended isolation period if agreed by both the principal and the relevant employee, and the employee is well enough to perform the agreed duties.