Q: We have an employee who has worked for us since 2023. She works only one day a fortnight (8 hours) and has requested half a day of sick leave.

I’ve advised her that although she has worked for us continuously for 6 months, she does not meet the work test for sick leave entitlement, as she averages less than 10 hours per week. She is now querying this.

Are we correct in advising her of this? What I find confusing is the use of the word “or” in the entitlement criteria. Based on that, I would tend to agree with her — that she is entitled to sick leave because she has worked continuously for 6 months, and therefore the work test does not apply.

As I understand it, entitlement to sick and bereavement leave depends on whether an employee has worked for their employer for 6 months — either continuously, or by meeting the work test.

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A: Even working every second week, you have a pattern of continuous employment, so yes they would get SL, section (b) does not apply:

Section 63: Entitlement to Sick Leave and Bereavement Leave

(1) An employee is entitled to sick leave and bereavement leave in accordance with this subpart—
(a) after the employee has completed 6 months’ current continuous employment with the employer; or
(b) if, in the case of an employee to whom subsection (1)(a) does not apply, the employee has, over a period of 6 months, worked for the employer for—
(i) at least an average of 10 hours a week during that period; and
(ii) no less than 1 hour in every week during that period or no less than 40 hours in every month during that period.