Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

FAIR WORK ACT 2009 - SECT 73

Employer may ask employee to provide a medical certificate

  (1)   If a pregnant employee who is entitled to unpaid parental leave (whether or not the employee has complied with section   74) continues to work during the 6 week period before the expected date of birth of the child, the employer may ask the employee to give the employer a medical certificate containing the following statements (as applicable):

  (a)   a statement of whether the employee is fit for work;

  (b)   if the employee is fit for work--a statement of whether it is inadvisable for the employee to continue in the employee's present position during a stated period because of:

  (i)   illness, or risks, arising out of the employee's pregnancy; or

  (ii)   hazards connected with the position.

Note:   Personal information given to an employer under this subsection may be regulated under the Privacy Act 1988 .

Employer may require employee to take unpaid parental leave

  (2)   The employer may require the employee to take a period of unpaid parental leave other than flexible unpaid parental leave (the period of leave ) as soon as practicable if:

  (a)   the employee does not give the employer the requested certificate within 7 days after the request; or

  (b)   within 7 days after the request, the employee gives the employer a medical certificate stating that the employee is not fit for work; or

  (c)   the following subparagraphs are satisfied:

  (i)   within 7 days after the request, the employee gives the employer a medical certificate stating that the employee is fit for work, but that it is inadvisable for the employee to continue in the employee's present position for a stated period for a reason referred to in subparagraph   (1)(b)(i) or (ii);

  (ii)   the employee has not complied with the notice and evidence requirements of section   74 for taking unpaid parental leave.

Note:   If the medical certificate contains a statement as referred to in subparagraph   (c)(i) and the employee has complied with the notice and evidence requirements of section   74, then the employee is entitled to be transferred to a safe job (see section   81) or to paid no safe job leave (see section   81A).

When the period of leave must end

  (3)   The period of leave must not end later than the earlier of the following:

  (a)   the end of the pregnancy;

  (b)   if the employee has given the employer notice of the taking of a period of leave connected with the birth of the child (whether it is unpaid parental leave or some other kind of leave)--the start date of that leave.

Special rules about the period of leave

  (4)   The period of leave is an exception to the rules in section   71 about:

  (a)   taking the employee's unpaid parental leave in a single continuous period; and

  (b)   when the employee's period of unpaid parental leave must start.

Note:   The period of leave is unpaid parental leave and so comes out of the employee's entitlement to 12 months of unpaid parental leave under section   70.

  (5)   The employee is not required to comply with section   74 in relation to the period of leave.