Leave
Leave Entitlements and Procedures
The purpose of these guidelines is to provide clarity for staff on:
Types of leave that Catalpa staff are entitled to
How to apply for leave
Where to go for more help
Types of leave that Catalpa staff are entitled to
Annual Leave
Catalpa staff are entitled to twenty (20) days of paid annual leave for each year of service with Catalpa. Part-time staff are eligible for annual leave on a pro rata basis according to the number of days worked.
The annual leave entitlement for the contract period is available to staff to use from the beginning of the employment contract period and then the first day of any subsequent contracts.
To foster a healthy work/life balance, Catalpa encourages all staff to take annual leave regularly throughout the contract period.
Annual Leave should be used within each contract period. Staff may carry forward no more than 5 days from one contract period to the next (unless country specific legislation applies e.g. Australia).
Annual leave is subject to approval by the staff member's manager. Wherever possible, the staff member and manager should agree on a suitable time to take annual leave. Managers will not unreasonably refuse staff requests to take annual leave, provided the staff member has given sufficient notice.
Catalpa does not pay out accrued annual leave during or at the conclusion of a contract period or at the time of contract extension (unless country specific legislation applies e.g. Australia).
Subject to any country specific provisions in prevailing legislation governing annual leave:
The Employer may take into account business requirements when either accepting or rejecting an application to take annual leave at a particular time; and,
While on annual leave, the staff member will not engage in any conduct which is inconsistent with their duties and responsibilities under their employment contracts.
Although the full annual leave entitlement is made available to staff at the beginning of the employment contract period and subsequent extensions, it is still “earned” each month (at 1.667 days per month). If a staff member finishes their employment with Catalpa before the contract end date, Catalpa will reconcile the total earned annual leave against the leave taken to determine any adjustment on the final payroll.
If the staff member falls sick during annual leave, they shall be entitled to personal/carers leave, provided it is substantiated by a medical certificate.
Annual leave does not accrue during periods of unpaid leave.
Catalpa does not 'cash out' annual leave during the contract period.
Staff must apply for all annual leave through the Xero Employee Portal or the Xero Me app prior to going on leave. Sufficient notice should be given to minimise the impact on work commitments.
Staff may be paid any accrued annual leave entitlements (if applicable), upon termination of employment.
If the Employer terminates their employment agreement with Catalpa (with or without notice), staff will be paid any accrued annual leave entitlements (if applicable).
If the employee terminates their employment agreement with Catalpa with notice, accrued annual leave will not be paid out unless agreed by the Catalpa Directors (unless country specific legislation applies e.g. Australia).
Personal/Carer's Leave
Catalpa staff are entitled to ten (10) days of paid personal/carer's leave for each year of service with Catalpa. Part-time staff are eligible for personal/carer's leave on a pro-rata basis according to the number of days worked
The personal/carer's leave entitlement for the contract period are available to staff to use from the beginning of the employment contract period and then the first day of any subsequent contracts.
Unlike annual leave, personal/carer’s leave is earned in full at the beginning of your contract. If a staff member finishes their employment with Catalpa before the contract end date, Catalpa will not reconcile their personal/carer's leave to determine any adjustment on the final payroll.
Staff may take paid personal/carer's leave if:
They are unable to work due to injury or illness,
Or they are required to care for an immediate family member due to injury, illness or emergency. “Immediate Family or Household” means the Employee’s spouse (including de facto spouse), child, stepchild or adopted child, parent, parent in law, grandparent, grandchild or sibling.
Personal/carer's leave does not accumulate year on year, or not carry forward from one contract period to another (unless country specific legislation applies e.g. Australia).
Staff must give their manager notice of taking personal/carer's leave as soon as practicable (and wherever possible, notice should be given prior to the staff member’s usual work start time) and must advise of the expected period of the leave. If the staff member does not provide notice of their absence from work in a timely manner, this may prevent the staff member from being eligible to take the leave (and therefore being paid for the leave).
Catalpa may request evidence (usually a medical certificate or statutory declaration) to substantiate the reason for any period of personal/carer's leave. If the staff member does not provide substantiating evidence this may prevent the staff member from being eligible to take the leave (and therefore be paid for the leave).
In the case of a staff member being unfit for work for a long period, the staff member can take as much personal/carer's leave as they’ve accumulated. Once personal/carer's leave is exhausted the staff member can take any annual leave they may have accumulated or unpaid leave. The staff member will be asked to provide evidence of their illness or injury.
Personal/carer's leave will not accrue during any periods of unpaid leave.
Catalpa does not pay out unused personal/carer's leave during or at the conclusion of a contract term or at the time of contract extension.
Staff must apply for personal/carer's leave through Xero Staff Portal or the Xero Me app on the day they are away from work or as soon as possible after returning to the workplace.
Community Service Leave
Giving back to the communities in which we live and work in is really important to our values at Catalpa.
Staff can take up to 5 days paid community service leave per contract year to engage in activities on a voluntary basis or for activities such as to support local charities, not for profits and community groups, community service events, or jury duty.
Staff are not permitted to use community service leave for commercial purposes.
Staff who take community service leave must give reasonable notice for the period of leave.
Permission to take community service leave is always at the discretion of the manager. Staff must apply for Community Service Leave through Xero Staff Portal or the Xero Me app prior to commencing the leave.
Community Service Leave does not accumulate year on year.
Community Service Leave is not paid out on termination of employment.
Catalpa reserves the right to update or amend this benefit at its absolute discretion.
Leave Without Pay
Leave without pay may be granted at the discretion of an Executive Director and normally only after all relevant paid leave has been exhausted.
If a continuous period of leave without pay exceeds ten working days, the period of leave is not recognised as service for the purpose of calculating leave entitlements including annual and personal/sick leave.
Public holidays which fall in the period of leave without pay form part of the leave and are not paid or added on to the end of the leave period.
Maternity and Paternity Leave
Our Maternity and Paternity Leave Policies vary by country. Check your Employment contract for current provisions and entitlements.
Generally, it is the intent of Catalpa to ensure our employees have access to a number of weeks’ paid maternity leave - sometimes this is offered through the Government of the countries where our employees reside. Where no access to paid parental leave is provided for by the Government, Catalpa may provide paid Maternity and Paternity Leave.
Public holidays that fall within a period of unpaid maternity or paternity leave form part of that leave. If public holidays fall within the paid leave period, they are not added on at the end as extra leave days.
Annual and Personal/Sick Leave does not accrue while the staff member is on parental leave.
If the Maternity or Paternity Leave period falls over the Holiday Closure Period, the leave of the Holiday Closure Period forms part of the leave and can’t be ‘saved’ and used at a different time.
Annual and Personal/Sick Leave does not accrue while the staff member is on Maternity or
Holiday Closure Period
Every year Catalpa closes for the Holiday / New Year period.
To attract and retain great people, Catalpa provides paid leave to employees during this period as an employee benefit. That is, staff are not required to dip into their annual leave entitlements during this period - paid leave over this period is provided by Catalpa on top of/ or in addition to your normal annual leave entitlements as outlined above.
Consider this our Holiday present to all Catalpians! This is a really generous benefit offered by Catalpa and a way for us to say thank you for all your hard work during the year.
Please note, Catalpa reserves the right to update or amend this benefit at its absolute discretion.
This period of leave can’t be used at any different time other than the dates that are published by Catalpa each year. The leave provided over the Holiday Closure Period is not accumulated throughout the year and is not added on to Annual Leave as an additional number of days to be used at another time. It is not paid out on termination of employment.
How to apply for leave
Here are some principles for how we manage leave at Catalpa:
All staff of Catalpa, including long term staff on consultant contracts, apply for all types of leave via the Xero Me App or Xero Employee Portal
Advance planning of leave is essential to ensure our teams can operate efficiently at all times.
It is the responsibility of the staff member to apply for leave in advance as soon as possible, preferably with at least two weeks notice.
If you are away sick, you must inform your manager as soon as possible and apply for personal/sick leave in the Xero Employee Portal as soon as you return to work. Don’t forget the Xero Me App is available at your fingertips as well.
Here’s how to apply for leave:
New hires will be sent a user invite from Xero, generally in your first week with Catalpa.
Access the Xero Employee Portal or download the free Xero Me app from the App Store or The Google Play Store. Save the link to your favourites or download the app straight away. The App is super handy to use without needing to get into your laptop.
Note, all staff have access to the Xero Employee portal. It can be used to view payroll details and payslips, enter timesheets, request leave, print a payment summary, and change your employment details for the organisation.
3. Sign in...
4. In the Xero Employee Portal:
In My Payroll, select the Leave tab.
Click New Leave Request.
Complete all fields including: Type of Request – Select the leave type.
Provide a description – This isn't included on your payslip.
Approver – Select one or more people to approve your request.
Enter Start Date and End Date – Select the first and last days of your leave.
Hours – Request part-days separately to enter number of hours.
Click Request.
What's next? You'll get a notification when your manager approves or declines the request.
5. Or, in the Xero Me app:
Click + Request Leave
Complete all fields including:
Description – This isn't included on your payslip.
Type of Request – Select the leave type.
Approver – Select one or more people to approve your request.
Start Date and End Date – Select the first and last days of your leave.
Click Request
What's next? You'll get a notification when your manager approves or declines the request.
Need more help?
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