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Introduction
In times of disaster, an organisation's employees may want to volunteer for emergency management services.
When can employees volunteer for emergency management services?
In certain circumstances under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Fair Work Act), employees may take unpaid community service leave to engage in voluntary emergency management services.
Industry specific awards and enterprise agreements may also contain specific provisions in relation to community service leave, such as periods of paid community service leave.
Employees may take community service leave for voluntary emergency management activity if:
- the activity involves dealing with an emergency or natural disaster
- the employee engages in the activity on a voluntary basis (whether or not the employee directly or indirectly takes or agrees to take an honorarium, gratuity or similar payment wholly or partly for engaging in the activity)
- the employee is a member of, or has a member-like association with, a recognised emergency management body, and
- either:
- the employee was requested by, or on behalf of, the body to engage in the activity, or
- no such request was made, but it would be reasonable to expect that, if the circumstances had permitted the making of such a request, it is likely that such a request would have been made
The most common examples of a recognised emergency management body are the State Emergency Service (SES), Country Fire Authority (CFA) or the Regional Fire Service (RFS).
Employees who engage in an eligible voluntary emergency management activity are entitled to be absent from employment for a period consisting of the time taken for engaging in the activity, reasonable associated travelling time and rest time immediately following the activity.
For more information on the requirement to take community service leave for voluntary emergency management activity, see the Fair Work Ombudsman’s webpage Community service leave.
Disclaimer: These resources provide general information about legal issues that may arise for not-for-profit organisations in managing disasters. This information is a guide only and is not legal advice. If you or your organisation has a specific legal issue, you should seek legal advice before deciding what to do. See full disclaimer and copyright notice.
The content on this webpage was last updated in December 2024.
