AP781128 - Flight Attendants (Domestic Airlines) Award 1999
[17 varied by PR900218; substituted by PR955231 ppc 25Jan05]
17.1 Notice of termination by employer
17.1.1 An employer who terminates the employment of a flight attendant must give the flight attendant a written notice of termination, which must state the reason for dismissal.
17.1.2 The services of a flight attendant may be terminated by either the employer or the flight attendant:
17.1.2(a) during the first three months of service, by one week’s notice in writing;
17.1.2(b) after the first three months of service, by four weeks’ notice in writing;
17.1.2(c) by payment to the flight attendant in lieu of notice in accordance with 17.3;
17.1.2(d) by the forfeiture by the flight attendant of an amount equal to the unworked period of notice, in lieu of notice set out in this clause.
17.2 In addition to the notice in 17.1.2, flight attendants over 45 years of age at the time of the giving of the notice with not less than two years' continuous service, are entitled to an additional week's notice.
17.3 Payment in lieu of the prescribed notice in 17.1.2 must be made if the appropriate notice period is not required to be worked. Provided that employment may be terminated by the flight attendant working part of the required period of notice and by the employer making payment for the remainder of the period of notice.
17.4 The required amount of payment in lieu of notice must equal or exceed the total of all amounts that, if the flight attendant’s employment had continued until the end of the required period of notice, the employer would have become liable to pay to the flight attendant because of the employment continuing during that period. That total must be calculated on the basis of:
17.4.1 the flight attendant's ordinary hours of work (even if not standard hours); and
17.4.2 the amounts ordinarily payable to the flight attendant in respect of those hours, including (for example) allowances, loading and penalties; and
17.4.3 any other amounts payable under the flight attendant's contract of employment.
17.5 The period of notice in this clause does not apply:
17.5.1 in the case of dismissal for serious misconduct;
17.5.2 to casual flight attendants.
17.6 Continuous service is defined in 27.1.2.
17.7 Notice of termination by a flight attendant
17.7.1 The notice of termination required to be given by a flight attendant is the same as that required of an employer, save and except that there is no requirement on the flight attendant to give additional notice based on the age of the flight attendant concerned.
17.7.2 If a flight attendant fails to give the notice specified in 17.1 the employer has the right to withhold monies due to the flight attendant to a maximum amount equal to the amount the flight attendant would have received under 17.4.
17.8 When notice applies
If notice of termination is given to or by a flight attendant on temporary transfer, the notice does not commence until the flight attendant is returned by the employer to their permanent base.
17.9 If a flight attendant’s employment is terminated in accordance with 17.1.2, the flight attendant must be granted free travel, except in the case of serious misconduct, to their permanent base or another base in the employer’s network as is agreed. Provided that the flight attendant accepts this travel within 4 weeks of the termination of their employment.
17.10 Working the notice period
Any flight attendant who, having given or been given notice, is absent from duty during the notice period without reasonable cause (proof of which rests with the flight attendant), the flight attendant is taken to have abandoned their employment and must forfeit an amount equal to the salary for the period not worked.
17.11 Job search entitlement
Where an employer has given notice of termination to a flight attendant, a flight attendant shall be allowed up to one day's time off without loss of pay for the purpose of seeking other employment. The time off shall be taken at times that are convenient to the flight attendant after consultation with the employer.
17.12 Transmission of business
Where a business is transmitted from one employer to another, as set out in clause 17A.7, the period of continuous service that the flight attendant had with the transmittor or any prior transmittor is deemed to be service with the transmittee and taken into account when calculating notice of termination. However, a flight attendant shall not be entitled to notice of termination or payment in lieu of notice for any period of continuous service in respect of which notice has already been given or paid for.
