Transport for NSW Newsletter – Leave Balance Translation Process

Newsletter: 1/2015

Members who were previously employed in other transport areas, working a 38 hour week have raised concerns in relation to the translation of accrued leave entitlements. The affected members are those who accepted positions within Transport/NSW working a 35 hour week. The concern relates to the potential loss of total accrued hour entitlements when converting to the 35 hour base.

As a result of a recent meeting with Senior Transport for NSW Industrial Relations, where we provided examples of potential discrepancies Transport for NSW have forwarded the methodology explaining how the new entitlement figures were reached. (Please see the extract from the TfNSW response and examples below.)

As requested, I wanted to provide clarity on leave balance for staff who transition from Sydney Trains to TfNSW.

I can confirm there is no financial detriment to leave entitlements for staff moving across to TfNSW.  The main difference is a result of Sydney trains hours of work based on 38 hours a week whereas TfNSW its 35 hours.

Leave entitlements for staff are provided in days rather than hours. Converting the leave balance from hours to days equate to the same entitlements.

An example of this is provided below:

E.g. An employee has an annual leave balance in Sydney trains of 44.32 hours; transitioned across to TfNSW is 40.82 hours.  However both provide equivalent entitlement of 5.83 days.

Members should check their leave allocation to ensure that their leave entitlement has been converted correctly. If members discover any incorrect conversion or still have concerns they should contact the RTBU Office.

Members should also complete the Transport/NSW Award Survey and return to the Office