Education and Staff Development

Bloomfield Hospital has a growing education department of five (5) Clinical Nurse Educators (CNE's).  The CNE's provide educational support to staff and students at the unit level through in-service sessions, focused teaching requests and opportunistic education.  An annual in-service program is developed by the CNE's for each of the units to provide a coordinated approach to education.  

Along with this program there are mandatory training sessions that staff need to attend once per year that is coordinated by the Centre for Rural & Remote Education (CRRE) Mental Health Nurse Educators.  

Salary

Salary scale

Salary Sacrificing

Allowances - There are currently in place a range of allowances and other incentives for some employees working in rural and remote areas.  As well a further range of allowances are being developed by the NSW Government.  Salary Packaging - Salary Packaging is a legal way of reducing your taxable income resulting in you paying less tax each fortnight. 

What is Salary Packaging? 

Put simply, Salary Packaging is a legal way of reducing your taxable income resulting in you paying less tax each fortnight.

Who is eligible?

Permanent Full Time and Part Time Staff.
Employees with contracts for at least 3 months' duration.

As a NSW Health employee Salary Packaging offers you a legal way of reducing your taxable income resulting in you paying less tax each fortnight. This is done by choosing to receive part of your salary as a fringe benefit.
For extended information please go to the website below:
Greater Western Area Health Service Salary Packaging

Allocated or Additional Days Off (ADO's)

The Greater Western AHS will comply with relevant industrial awards and NSW Health Policy Directives in providing allocated or additional days off (ADO's) to its employees.  The day-to-day responsibility for compliance rests with Stream Managers and supervisors who must ensure that the staff who report to them receive the correct ADO entitlements.  This responsibility includes the implementation of proper approval processes, record keeping, monitoring, rostering and reduction of excess accruals.

For extended information please go to the websites below:
Allocated or Additional Days Off (Ado's) - Standard of Practice

Time in Lieu

The Greater Western AHS supports the implementation of flexible work practices as a means of promoting the efficient use of working time and of helping employees to manage their family, career, social and business commitments.  Subject to the following principles and limitations, staff employed by the Greater Western AHS may be entitled to accumulate and utilize Time in Lieu of Overtime (TIL).

For extended information please go to the website below:
Time in Lieu of Overtime - GWAHS Standard of Practice

Overtime

All overtime must be authorised by the Nursing Office prior to shift to be worked.  "Time off in Lieu" of payment for overtime worked may be used; however; authorisation must be obtained from the Campus Manager or Administration Office.  A record of working time in excess of normal rostered hours must be maintained by staff and authorised by the relevant supervisor and kept at unit level. 

Annual Leave: 

All Awards governing conditions of employment for staff employed in the NSW Health Service contain annual leave provisions.  Some Awards include annual leave loading provisions while in other cases, the annual leave loading entitlements are provided by way of policy.  The policy directive should always be read in conjunction with the relevant Award as the Awards contain additional detail on the annual leave provisions.  The current Awards can be accessed on the Department of Health intranet site at:

Employment

Pay Rates and Conditions

Sick Leave

Greater Western AHS (GWAHS) is committed to developing and implementing strategies and procedures for the effective and sensitive management of sick leave absences by staff.  Such strategies and procedures aim to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of all people in the workplace; encourage attendance at work and support staff in fulfilling their work commitments; and ensure that sick leave entitlements are appropriately handled. 

GWAHS active approach to the management of sick leave includes:

• A commitment to the health and well being of all staff;
• Procedural fairness;
• Active monitoring of sick leave to both manage individual cases, and identify and manage systemic causes of sick leave;
• The need to consider specific circumstances of each case;
• The need to support staff in reconciling their work obligations and private commitments;
• Management accountability.

GWAHS has developed a 'Managing Sick Leave Absences Toolkit for Managers' to help facilitate and manage sick leave absences.  It is recognised that from time to time staff members may be required to take sick leave.  The Managing Sick Leave Toolkit for Managers has been designed to provide assistance in recognising patterns of sick leave that require proactive intervention and some guidelines for managing the issue.  Managing sick leave is of importance to both the staff member and the organisation.  It is in neither party's best interest to ignore high levels of sick leave.  Large amounts of sick leave can be symptomatic of organisational and workplace issues that need attention.  Equally it can be due to personal employee matters that steps taken within the workplace could address e.g. fatigue. Sick leave is a very important working condition and one that provides employees with a level of security in the face of illness. It can be used inappropriately. 

For extended information please go to the website below:
Management of Sick Leave Absences - Standard of Practice

Family Responsibility Leave

PD2007_031 - Family and Community Services Leave and Personal/Carer's Leave

sets out the Award provisions for family and community services leave and personal/carer's leave.  This policy directive will be included as a chapter of the Leave Matters Manual.  

For extended information please go to the websites below:
Leave Matters Manual

PD2007_031 - Family and Community Services Leave and Personal/Carer's Leave

Parental Leave

All full time and part time female staff are eligible to apply for paid maternity leave if they have completed forty (40) weeks of continuous service.
All fill time and part time male staff are eligible to apply for one (1) week paid paternity leave if they have completed twelve (12) months continuous service immediately preceding the date on which the leave commences.  All full time and part time staff are eligible to apply for paid adoption leave if they have completed forty (40) weeks of continuous service.
All applicants are required to complete a statutory declaration with reference to any concurrent parental leave applications lodged by their partner.

For extended information please go to the website below:
Parental Leave Eligibility and Application Procedures

Leave With or Without Pay

Special leave with or without pay will only be approved in exceptional circumstances.  Each application will be considered according to the circumstances and must be submitted on the prescribed "Application for Leave" form.  This form then needs to be forwarded to the Campus Manager. 

Conference Leave

Applications in writing will be considered for leave to attend relevant conferences, workshops or seminars, having regard to the duration of absence and the staffing of the unit concerned.  Travel Request forms must also be submitted if support for travel and/or accommodation is being sought.  This is negotiated with the A/g Deputy Director of Nursing.

Education/Study Leave

Employees wishing to undertake a course of study that is relevant to their work can apply for assistance that involves study leave to attend compulsory residential schools, under some circumstances payment toward fees and study leave to write-up research thesis.  This is negotiated with the A/g Deputy Director of Nursing.

For extended information please go to the website below:
Study_Leave_Application.doc

Special Leave

The policy directive at the website below provides detail on a number of types of special leave that are available to staff employed in the NSW Health Service.  These entitlements are not available to casual employees.  Consolidation of special leave entitlements for blood donor leave, attendance at State Super retirement seminars, jury duty, NAIDOC Week, to be a witness at court, repatriation leave, emergency volunteer service and volunteer service in East Timor.  This policy directive will be included as a chapter of the Leave Matters Manual.  

For extended information please go to the website below:
PD2006_095 - Special Leave

Retirement

A mature workforce program should be part of a strategic human resource management approach, be linked to the Health Services business plan and be based on the following principles:

• Employment practices should uphold the principle of treating all staff, regardless of age, on the basis of merit; and
• Mature-aged staff should have fair and equitable access to all employment opportunities and have a chance to contribute to, and participate in, all aspects of the work of the Health Service. Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 No 48 states that it is unlawful for a person to: 
• Retire an employee from employment, or
• Require an employee to retire from employment, or
• Threaten to retire an employee from employment, or
• Engage in conduct with a view to causing an employee to retire from employment, on the ground of the employee's age