Sick leave
Your employment agreement sets out how much sick leave you can take, whether you can carry sick leave forward, and under what circumstances your sick leave can be disregarded.
| Level of compliance | Main audience | Other |
|---|---|---|
|
Required
|
|
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- Primary principals
- Primary teachers
- Secondary principals
- Secondary teachers
- Area school principals
- Area school teachers
- Sick-leave entitlement translation explainer
Primary principals
From 28 January 2024, the basic sick leave entitlement for primary principals is 10 days a year.
Extra entitlement of leave is granted at the start of your teaching service as set out in the table below.
| Time you've worked | Entitlement | Total sick leave entitlement for that time |
|---|---|---|
| Upon first appointment to a teaching position in a state or state-integrated school | 20 days | 20 days |
| 6 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 30 days |
| 12 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 40 days |
| 18 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 50 days |
| 24 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 60 days |
| 30 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 70 days |
| Each subsequent 12 months of completed aggregate employment | 10 days | +10 days |
If you are not covered by the current collective agreement or an individual employment agreement linked to the current collective agreement, then your entitlements will be continued to be those set out in your employment agreement.
Refer to the tables set out at clause 4.1.1(b) or 4.1.1(c) as applicable.
If you do not use all your sick leave in a year, you can carry it forward. Under certain circumstances and with approval from your board, you may be allowed to anticipate up to 10 days from your next year's sick leave allocation.
Sick leave entitlements, including provisions for short-term relief teachers, are set out in Clause 4 of the collective agreement.
Clause 7.3 – Primary Principals’ Collective Agreement
Disregarded sick leave
Disregarded sick leave means time off for sickness or injury that meets one of the conditions listed in your employment agreement. This leave, if approved, isn’t deducted from your sick leave balance.
Your school board can not approve disregarded sick leave. It must apply to the Ministry on your behalf.
Disregarded sick leave provisions are set out in Clause 7.4 of the collective agreement.
Clause 7.4 – Primary Principals’ Collective Agreement
Primary teachers
From 28 January 2024, the basic sick leave entitlement for primary teachers is 10 days a year.
An extra entitlement of leave is granted at the start of your teaching service as set out in the table below.
| Time you've worked | Entitlement | Total sick leave entitlement for that time |
|---|---|---|
| Upon first appointment to a teaching position in a state or state integrated school | 20 days | 20 days |
| 6 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 30 days |
| 12 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 40 days |
| 18 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 50 days |
| 24 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 60 days |
| 30 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 70 days |
| Each subsequent 12 months of completed aggregate employment | 10 days | +10 days |
If you are not covered by the current collective agreement or an individual employment agreement linked to the current collective agreement, then your entitlements will continue to be those set out in your employment agreement.
Refer to the tables set out at clause 4.1.1(b) or 4.1.1(c) as applicable.
If you do not use all your sick leave in a year, you can carry it forward. Under certain circumstances, and with approval from your board, you may be allowed to anticipate up to 10 days from your next year's sick leave allocation.
Sick leave entitlements, including provisions for short-term relief teachers, are set out in clause 4.2.4 of the collective agreement.
Clause 4.1 – Primary Teachers’ Collective Agreement
Disregarded sick leave
Disregarded sick leave means time off for sickness or injury that meets one of the conditions listed in your employment agreement. This leave, if approved, isn’t deducted from your sick leave balance.
Your school board can not approve disregarded sick leave. It must apply to the Ministry on your behalf.
Disregarded sick leave provisions are set out in Clause 4.3 of the collective agreement.
Clause 4.3 – Primary Teachers’ Collective Agreement
Secondary principals
From 28 January 2024, the basic sick leave entitlement for secondary principals is 10 days a year.
Extra entitlement of leave is granted at the start of your teaching service as set out in the table below.
| Time you've worked | Entitlement | Total sick leave entitlement for that time |
|---|---|---|
| Upon first appointment to a teaching position in a state or state integrated school | 20 days | 20 days |
| 6 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 30 days |
| 12 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 40 days |
| 18 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 50 days |
| 24 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 60 days |
| 30 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 70 days |
| Each subsequent 12 months of completed aggregate employment | 10 days | +10 days |
If you are not covered by the current collective agreement or an individual employment agreement linked to the current collective agreement, then your entitlements will continue to be those set out in your employment agreement.
Refer to the table set out at clause 5.2.1(a).
If you don’t use all your sick leave in a year, you can carry it forward. Under certain circumstances, and with approval from your board, you may be allowed to anticipate up to 10 days from your next year's sick leave allocation.
Sick leave entitlements are set out in Clause 5.2 of the collective agreement.
Clause 5.2 – Secondary Principals’ Collective Agreement
Disregarded sick leave
Disregarded sick leave means time off for sickness or injury that meets one of the conditions listed in your employment agreement. This leave, if approved, isn’t deducted from your sick leave balance.
Your school board can not approve disregarded sick leave. It must apply to the Ministry on your behalf.
Disregarded sick leave provisions are set out in Clause 5.2.7 of the collective agreement.
Clause 5.2.7 - Secondary Principals’ Collective Agreement
Secondary teachers
From 28 January 2024, the basic sick leave entitlement for secondary teachers is 10 days a year.
Extra entitlement of leave is granted at the start of your teaching service as set out in the table below.
| Time you've worked | Entitlement | Total sick leave entitlement for that time |
|---|---|---|
| Upon first appointment to a teaching position in a state or state integrated school | 20 days | 20 days |
| 6 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 30 days |
| 12 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 40 days |
| 18 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 50 days |
| 24 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 60 days |
| 30 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 70 days |
| Each subsequent 12 months of completed aggregate employment | 10 days | +10 days |
If you are not covered by the current collective agreement or an individual employment agreement linked to the current collective agreement, then your entitlements will continue to be those set out in your employment agreement.
Refer to the table set out at clause 6.2.1(a).
If you don't use all your sick leave in a year, you can carry it forward. Under certain circumstances, and with approval from your board, you may be allowed to anticipate up to 10 days from your next year's sick leave allocation.
Sick leave entitlements, including provisions for short-term relief teachers are set out in Clause 6.2 of the collective agreement.
Clause 6.2 – Secondary Teachers’ Collective Agreement
Disregarded sick leave
Disregarded sick leave is when time off for sickness or injury that meets one of the conditions listed in your employment agreement. This leave, if approved, isn’t deducted from your sick leave balance.
Your school board can not approve disregarded sick leave. It must apply to the Ministry on your behalf.
Disregarded sick leave provisions are set out in Clause 6.2.8 of the collective agreement.
Clause 6.2.8 - Secondary Teachers’ Collective Agreement
Area school principals
From 28 January 2024, the basic sick leave entitlement for area school principals is 10 days a year.
Extra entitlement of leave is granted at the start of your teaching service as set out in the table below.
| Time you've worked | Entitlement | Total sick leave entitlement for that time |
|---|---|---|
| Upon first appointment to a teaching position in a state or state integrated school | 20 days | 20 days |
| 6 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 30 days |
| 12 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 40 days |
| 18 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 50 days |
| 24 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 60 days |
| 30 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 70 days |
| Each subsequent 12 months of completed aggregate employment | 10 days | +10 days |
If you are not covered by the current collective agreement or an individual employment agreement linked to the current collective agreement, then your entitlements will continue to be those set out in your employment agreement.
Refer to the table set out at clause 5.2(a).
If you don't use all your sick leave in a year, you can carry it forward. Under certain circumstances, and with approval from your board, you may be allowed to anticipate up to 10 days from your next year's sick leave allocation.
For full details of your sick leave entitlement refer to clause 5.2 of the Area School Principals' Collective Agreement.
Clause 5.2 – Area School Principals’ Collective Agreement
Disregarded sick leave
Disregarded sick leave means time off for sickness or injury that meets one of the conditions listed in your employment agreement. This leave, if approved, isn’t deducted from your sick leave balance.
Your school board can not approve disregarded sick leave. It must apply to the Ministry on your behalf.
Disregarded sick leave provisions are set out in clause 5.2.6 of the Area School Teachers’ Collective Agreement.
Clause 5.2.6 – Area School Principals’ Collective Agreement
Area school teachers
From 28 January 2024, the basic sick leave entitlement for area school teachers is 10 days a year.
Extra entitlement of leave is granted at the start of your teaching service as set out in the table below.
| Time you've worked | Entitlement | Total sick leave entitlement for that time |
|---|---|---|
| Upon first appointment to a teaching position in a state or state integrated school | 20 days | 20 days |
| 6 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 30 days |
| 12 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 40 days |
| 18 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 50 days |
| 24 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 60 days |
| 30 months aggregate employment | 10 days | 70 days |
| Each subsequent 12 months of completed aggregate employment | 10 days | +10 days |
If you are not covered by the current collective agreement or an individual employment agreement linked to the current collective agreement, then your entitlements will continue to be those set out in your employment agreement.
Refer to the table set out at clause 5.1.1(a).
If you don't use all your sick leave in a year, you can carry it forward. Under certain circumstances, and with approval from your board, you may be allowed to anticipate up to 10 days from your next year's sick leave allocation.
Sick-leave entitlements, including provisions for short-term relief teachers, are set out in clause 5.2.4 of the collective agreement:
Clause 5.1 – Area School Teachers’ Collective Agreement
Disregarded sick leave
Disregarded sick leave means time off for sickness or injury that meets one of the conditions listed in your employment agreement. The leave, if approved, isn’t deducted from your sick leave balance.
Your school board can not approve disregarded sick leave. It must apply to the Ministry on your behalf.
Disregarded sick leave provisions are set out in Clause 5.2.8 of the collective agreement.
Clause 5.2.8 – Area School Teachers’ Collective Agreement
Sick-leave entitlement translation explainer
Sick-leave entitlements for teachers and principals employed before 28 January 2024 have been adjusted in line with the settlement of the collective agreements.
The new sick-leave balances for teachers and principals employed before 28 January 2024 will be the new translated entitlement, less any sick days previously taken. No teacher or principal will be disadvantaged in the translation of entitlements. No teacher or principal will have a sick-leave balance of less than 10 days or less than the balance they had at 27 January 2024.
Examples of sick-leave translation
The following are translation examples for area school teachers and principals; secondary teachers and principals and those primary teachers and principals who had their sick leave provided under the Table B of their collective agreement.
| Example steps | *Teacher A | Teacher B | Teacher C | Teacher D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Years of service at translation | 1 year | 5.5 years | 15.5 | 25.5 years |
| Sick-leave entitlement prior to translation (accumulated) | 46 | 92 | 154 | 229 |
| Total sick leave taken | 5 | 54.5 | 131 | 234 |
| Balance prior to translation | 41 | 37.5 | 23 | -5 |
| New translated sick-leave entitlement (accumulated) | 40 | 100 | 200 | 300 |
| Total sick leave taken | 5 | 54.5 | 131 | 234 |
| New balance after translation | 41 | 45.5 | 69 | 66 |
| Total increase to balance | nil | 8 | 46 | 71 |
*No teacher will translate to a balance that is less than their balance prior to translation. If sick leave is provided under table B, teacher A would have translated to a leave balance of 35; their balance of 41 has been maintained.
The following are translation examples for primary teachers and principals who had their sick leave provided under Table A of their collective agreement.
| Example steps | Teacher E | Teacher F | Teacher G | Teacher H |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Years of service at translation | 1 year | 5.5 years | 15.5 | 25.5 years |
| Sick-leave entitlement prior to translation (accumulated) | 31 | 75 | 139 | 214 |
| Total sick leave taken | 5 | 54.5 | 131 | 216 |
| Balance prior to translation | 26 | 20.5 | 8 | -2 |
| New translated sick-leave entitlement (accumulated) | 40 | 100 | 200 | 300 |
| Total sick leave taken | 5 | 54.5 | 131 | 216 |
| New balance after translation | 35 | 45.5 | 69 | 84 |
| Total increase to balance | 9 | 25 | 61 | 86 |
Sick-leave entitlements for all teachers and principals by years of service is available on the Education Payroll website:
Sick-leave entitlements for teachers and principals – Education Payroll(external link)
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