Leave without pay
Leave without pay is an option for staff, normally, where other forms of leave are unavailable. It is granted at the discretion of the University.
Leave without pay will not normally exceed one year except where another tertiary institution, a government agency, professional development, or other relevant employment or study is involved, in which case up to two years may be approved.
A staff member's recreation leave credits must be exhausted before leave without pay can be granted.
Examples of reasons for granting leave without pay are:
- Care for dependants or family members in case of illness, accident or bereavement;
- Take up a brief fixed-term appointment with another institution or government body (that may aid in the development and expertise of the staff member, as well as being in the interests of Federation University Australia);
- Undertake a consultancy with a government organisation or other approved body;
- Accompany a partner on extended leave or secondment;
- Undertake study, or carry out research;
- Settle affairs of a personal nature, for example to execute an estate; or
- Extend personal leave where credits have been exhausted.
Other reasons may be acceptable and would be assessed and approved by the Vice-Chancellor on a case-by-case basis.
Please note that information for unpaid leave related to parental leave can be found at the following links:
To fully understand your options and entitlements, please read the Leave Without Pay Procedure.
- Staff should consider consulting Payroll (raise a case in Workday) to find out how leave without pay might affect your long service leave benefits; and
- seek advice from your financial planner and/or your superannuation provider to understand the implications of leave without pay for your personal finances.
More information
For detailed information on leave entitlements and conditions for different staff categories, please refer to your relevant enterprise agreement:
- Federation University Australia Union Enterprise Agreement | Academic and General Staff Employees | 2023-2026 (pdf, 1.77MB)
- Federation University Australia | TAFE Teaching Staff Agreement | 2019 (pdf, 495kb)
Please note the 'provisions/entitlements' above do not apply to casual or sessional staff members.