Industrial Relations Act 2016

An employee may work for the employee’s employer on a day (a keeping in touch day) during the employee’s unpaid parental leave if—

the purpose of performing the work is to enable the employee to keep in touch with the employee’s employment to facilitate a return to the employment after the end of the period of parental leave; and

the employer and employee agree to the employee performing the work for the employer on the day; and

the day is not within—

if the employee is asked by the employer to work on the day—14 days after the child was born, adopted or started residing with the employee under a surrogacy arrangement or cultural recognition order; or

otherwise—42 days after the child was born, adopted or started residing with the employee under a surrogacy arrangement or cultural recognition order; and

the employee has not worked 10 or more keeping in touch days for the employer or another entity during the relevant leave period.

Note—

The employer will be obliged, under the applicable industrial instrument or contract of employment, to pay the employee for performing work on a keeping in touch day.

If the employee works on a keeping in touch day, the period of the parental leave is not broken or extended by the employee working on the keeping in touch day.

The period the employee works on the keeping in touch day is not relevant for this section.

In this section—

relevant leave period means—

means a period of unpaid parental leave taken by the employee; or

if an application for an extension of parental leave under section 73 is agreed to—the period agreed under section 73.

Note—

See the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 (Cwlth), sections 48 to 50 for how working on a keeping in touch day within the meaning of that Act affects an employee’s eligibility for paid parental leave under that Act.