Community service leave is a type of unpaid leave that allows employees to be absent from work for specific community service activities, such as jury duty or volunteering for emergency management. This leave is an entitlement under the Fair Work Act.
Key aspects of community service leave:
- Activities: Employees can take leave for jury duty, including jury selection, voluntary emergency management activities, and other activities mandated by law.
- Entitlement: All employees covered by the national workplace relations system are entitled to this leave, regardless of award, agreement, or contract.
- Unpaid: Community service leave is generally unpaid, except for jury duty, where some employees may be entitled to top-up pay.
- Travel and Rest:
- Employees can take leave for reasonable travel time associated with the activity and rest time immediately after.
- Notice: Employees must give their employer as much notice as possible of their absence.
- No Limit: There’s no limit on how much community service leave an employee can take.
- Jury Duty: Employees can take leave for jury duty, including attendance for jury selection, which is required by law.