The answer differed for two kinds of leave, and one balance has to be restored
A coal mining dispute over leave during a strike has produced a split decision - and a clear rule for employers running enterprise agreements.
In a decision dated July 28, 2026, the Fair Work Commission drew a line between two kinds of leave when employees take industrial action - and the distinction is one every enterprise agreement holder should note.
The dispute arose at the Rix's Creek Open Cut Mine in New South Wales, part of the Bloomfield Group. After the site's enterprise agreement passed its nominal expiry date in May 2025, the Mining and Energy Union began bargaining for a replacement. Union members took protected industrial action - lawful strike activity - from late September to mid-November 2025. The company responded with employer response action, a lockout that kept employees off rostered shifts.
For those periods, the company reduced employees' annual leave accruals and deducted personal and carer's leave that had already been credited. The union said this showed on payslips as annual leave "added" and then "taken," with matching reductions in personal leave balances, and argued the treatment was inconsistent with clauses 18 and 25 of the agreement.
The Commission divided the question in two, and the result was mixed.
On annual leave, the Commission found in line with the employer's position. Annual leave, it held, accrues progressively based on hours actually worked, so it did...
A SCOTTISH council has hit out at "entirely false" media claims that asylum seekers were being prioritised for housing. Edinburgh Council on Tuesday issued a statement rejecting the "misinformatio...