Disregarded sick leave
Disregarded sick leave is time off work, taken as sick leave or sick leave without pay, which can be reinstated where certain conditions or circumstances are met.
- About disregarded sick leave
- Eligibility for disregarded sick leave
- When and how to apply
- Download the application form
- Information required for applications
- Privacy(external link)
- More information(external link)
About disregarded sick leave
Disregarded sick leave is available where, in the opinion of the Secretary for Education:
- you are suffering from a sickness that can be traced directly to the conditions or circumstances under which you are working
- you suffered an injury that occurred in the discharge of your duties through no fault of your own and where no payment has been made by ACC
- you have contracted a notifiable disease listed in Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the Health Act 1956 and are either:
- complying with a written request or direction from a Medical Officer of Health under the Health Act 1956 to not attend school for a specified period; or
- are otherwise required by a relevant Public Health Order to refrain from attending school for a specified period
- you have contracted hepatitis or tuberculosis
- your absence is due to war injury or war service.
You can only apply for disregarded sick leave on a ground which is listed in your employment agreement.
If you are employed as a teacher in Te Aho o te Kura Pounamu’s early childhood service, you will only be eligible for disregarded sick leave on the first three grounds listed above.
Eligibility for disregarded sick leave
Disregarded sick leave is a contractual entitlement which is provided in the employment agreements of primary, secondary and area school teachers’ and principals’.
Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu early learning teachers may be eligible for disregarded sick leave on limited grounds.
If you are unsure, please check your collective agreement or your individual employment agreement. Copies of the collective agreements can be found on the Ministry’s website.
You can request a copy of your individual employment agreement from your employer, but the entitlements are the same as in the collective agreements.
Individual employment agreements
If you have had disregarded sick leave before
You may still be entitled to disregarded sick leave, depending on the period you have previously had granted.
You will not be granted disregarded sick leave if you have already been granted an overall aggregate of 2 years disregarded sick leave across your career.
When and how to apply
We encourage you to apply as soon as you think you:
- meet the eligibility criteria for disregarded sick leave
- have collected the required medical and other information in support of your application.
The application relies on the quality and quantity of medical and other information, which may be more difficult to obtain and assess after time has passed.
Send the completed application form and attachments to Employment.Relations@education.govt.nz.
What will happen next
Once you have submitted your application, you do not need to do anything else.
Your application will be reviewed by the Employment Relations team. They will be in touch with you to confirm the outcome of your application or, if needed, ask for more information.
Information required for applications
The information you need to provide in support of your application will depend on which ground for disregarded sick leave you are applying under.
Generally, the information is split into medical information and other information.
Click on the tabs below to find out what medical and other information you need to provide in support of your application.
Sickness traced directly to the conditions or circumstances you are working under
Medical information
You must provide advice from a registered medical practitioner, or, where relevant, a clinical psychologist. They must be a specialist in the field of the diagnoses (that is, not a general practitioner), and be able to:
- confirm a diagnosis of a sickness (or sicknesses) for the period of disregarded sick leave sought
- explain in how the diagnosed sickness(es) can be traced directly to the conditions or circumstances you are working under.
It is important that the medical information clearly specifies the date(s) for which it applies and that these dates align with the period of disregarded sick leave sought.
Our assessors need to be confident that there is a direct link between your sickness and the conditions or circumstances you were working under when you fell ill.
Depending on the sickness and circumstances in which it occurred, we may seek a second opinion (at the Ministry’s cost) to assist with assessing your application. This may involve sharing, with your consent, the medical information you have provided with a Ministry-appointed specialist or requesting you to attend an appointment with a Ministry-appointed specialist. If we consider this is necessary, a member of the Employment Relations team will be in touch with you directly.
Examples of illness for which disregarded sick leave is not provided include (but are not limited to):
- illnesses which are caused by factors outside of work (such as your general state of health, progressive illnesses and so on)
- accidents or illnesses which occur away from the workplace (injuries are covered by ACC)
- stress, anxiety or similar symptoms which cannot be attributed to a diagnosed condition.
Other information
Because you are employed by your school board (not the Ministry of Education), we do not have direct knowledge of your working conditions. We need to obtain this information from you and from your employer.
You need to:
- Set out your view of the relevant conditions or circumstances you are working under and explain why you think your sickness(es) can be traced directly to those conditions or circumstances.
- Provide relevant supporting documents. Depending on the conditions or circumstances, supporting documents may include copies of correspondence with your employer, or a statement from your employer.
If your supporting documents do not include a statement from your employer, it is important to note that your views will be shared with your employer so that they can express their view on the conditions or circumstances you were working under. You will be sent a copy of your employer’s response which you, in turn, can respond to.
In most cases it will be necessary to provide all supporting documents to your employer for their response. However, if you believe there is good reason not to provide certain information, please state in your email what information should be withheld and explain why you believe the information should be withheld.
An injury that occurred while carrying out your duties through no fault of your own and where no payment has been made by ACC
Disregarded sick leave is available for a maximum of 2 years across your career.
If you have suffered a physical or mental injury that happened while carrying of your duties, you should first apply for cover from ACC, which would enable you to be paid 80% of your income. This would leave disregarded sick leave as an option in the future if you were to need it.
Lodging a claim with ACC may also allow you to access rehabilitation, counselling, therapy and other support to help you recover. Your registered medical practitioner or physiotherapist should be able to assist you to lodge an application with ACC.
You will only be eligible to receive disregarded sick leave if ACC has declined cover. You will need to provide proof of this.
Medical information
You must provide advice from a registered medical practitioner or physiotherapist that:
- confirms a diagnosis of an injury for the period of disregarded sick leave sought
- explains how the diagnosed injury occurred in carrying out your duties.
It is important that the medical information clearly specifies the date(s) for which you have been affected by your injury, and that these dates align with the period of disregarded sick leave sought.
In the first instance, medical information will be provided from your treating general practitioner. Depending on the injury and circumstances in which it occurred, we may require you to provide more medical information from a registered medical practitioner who is a specialist in the injury(ies) you are claiming for. If we believe this is necessary, a member of the Employment Relations team will be in touch with you directly.
Other information
You must provide the following documents.
- Your own account of how the injury occurred in the discharge of your duties through no fault of your own, with relevant supporting documents. Relevant supporting documents may include a:
- copy of your job description or confirmation from your employer that your injury was suffered while carrying out your duties
- photo of the scene
- health and safety incident report to your employer and/or a statement from a witness.
- Proof that no payment has been made to you by the ACC for the injury. This will most likely be a letter from ACC declining cover for the injury.
Depending on the circumstances of your injury, we may require confirmation from your employer that the injury was no fault of your own.
Notifiable disease listed in Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the Health Act 1956
You must provide confirmation from a registered medical practitioner that you have been diagnosed with a notifiable disease listed in Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the Health Act 1956. A notifiable disease requires you to be excluded from school for the period of disregarded sick leave sought.
It is important that the medical information clearly specifies the date(s) for which it applies, and that these dates align with the period of disregarded sick leave sought.
You must also provide either:
- a copy of a written request or direction from a Medical Officer of Health under the Health Act 1956 to refrain from attending school for a specified period, or
- the name of a relevant Public Health Order that otherwise requires you to refrain from attending school for a specified period.
Health Act 1956: Part 1, Schedule 1 – NZ Legislation(external link)
A Medical Officer of Health is not a general practitioner. A Medical Officer of Health is a statutory officer designated by the Director-General of Health under the Health Act 1956.
Hepatitis or tuberculosis
You must provide advice from your treating registered medical practitioner, confirming:
- that you have contracted hepatitis or tuberculosis
- the period that the registered medical practitioner considers it necessary for you to remain away from school.
It is important that the medical information clearly specifies the date(s) for which it applies, and that these dates align with the period of disregarded sick leave sought.
War injury or service
Medical information
You must provide a letter from a registered medical practitioner confirming your absence is due to war injury or service.
It is important that the medical information clearly specifies the date(s) for which it applies, and that these dates align with the period of disregarded sick leave sought.
Other information
You must provide:
- your own account of how the injury occurred in war or is due to war service, with relevant supporting documents. For example, a copy of your service record confirming the injury occurred in war (or other similar information which demonstrates this), health and safety documentation or incident reports
- satisfactory proof of war service for the period of disregarded sick leave sought. For example, a letter from the New Zealand Defence Force or your service record.
What to do if more information is required
If, after reviewing your application, the Ministry needs more information from you or your employer, a member of the Employment Relations team will be in touch with you directly.
If the Ministry requires information from your employer, you will be sent a copy of any request and response. If you consider it necessary, you can then respond to the information provided by your employer.
If you choose not to provide medical or other information
We need to assess the application and make a decision based on the information provided.
If you choose not to provide information or decline to have your information provided to the Ministry’s medical specialist, we may be unable to progress your application for disregarded sick leave.
Privacy
In order to assess a disregarded sick leave application, we:
- collect personal information, including your name, contact details, and medical information
- obtain from payroll records a list of sick and related leave you have taken
- may need to obtain information from your employer. If so, you will be informed and will receive both our request and your employer’s response. You will also be able to respond to your employer's information if you choose.
We hold applicant information securely. Access is limited to authorised staff. With your consent we may share relevant information with a medical specialist in order to assist with our decision making.
You have the right to ask for a copy of any personal information we hold about you, and to ask for it to be corrected if the applicant thinks it is wrong. If the applicant would like to ask for a copy of their information, or to have it corrected, the applicant can contact us at employment.relations@education.govt.nz.
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