15 TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT

15.01 Termination of employment

15.01.02 Except as specifically provided otherwise, the terms of this Agreement will cover exhaustively the subject matter concerned, and exclude:

• State law about any matter subject to this Agreement; and
• any law of the Commonwealth, about which the Commission has power to make an award that is not consistent with that law due to s121 of the Act about any matter subject to this Agreement when this Agreement is not consistent with that law;

• any law empowering a State or Commonwealth industrial tribunal to order your reinstatement or compensation to you or to otherwise deal with your dismissal;
• any other law empowering any court or tribunal external to the University that has jurisdiction to deal with any causes of action or claims arising from actions taken by the University under this Agreement.

15.01.04 The University must not end your employment unless you have been given the appropriate notice and/or compensation under the relevant clause or in your letter of offer or the following notice and/or compensation (whichever is greatest), but:

• the University may end your employment without notice if you have been found to have engaged in serious misconduct of a nature that it would be unreasonable to require the University to continue your employment during a period of notice;
• the period of notice (or compensation instead of the notice) will be as worked out below:

15.01.05 You will be given the benefit of the procedural steps required by this Agreement and the Act.

15.01.06 On ending your employment for any reason, the University may recover any money you owe to the University from any money due to you, other than money due for accrued annual leave.

15.02 Abandonment of Employment

15.02.02 The University may send a certified letter to your last known address before the end of the 5 days of the first unauthorised absence, if the University suspects that you have abandoned your employment.

15.02.03 If there is no response to the University's letter within 10 working days, you will be suspended without pay.

15.02.04 This will happen from the end of the last day you were at work or were on approved leave or absence on duty.

15.02.05 If you do not show that you were absent for reasonable cause or if you did not respond but later ask to be allowed to resume duty, your absence will be dealt with as possible misconduct under 13.0.

Withholding of Leave

15.02.06 If the University has not approved leave, it will not consider you to have abandoned your employment. An unauthorised absence in this situation will be dealt with under 11.18.03 or as possible misconduct under 13.0.

15.03 Termination or Transfer on the Grounds of Illness

15.03.02 You will be told, in writing, to be examined by a medical practitioner chosen and paid by the University within one month of that notice. A statement of your inherent duties will be given to the medical practitioner as a basis for assessment. You will stay on paid sick leave during the notice period. If you prefer to go on under 15.03.06, the medical will not be needed.

15.03.03 You will be given a copy of the medical practitioner's report.

15.03.04 If this report shows that you can resume duty, the University will go on with the return to work plan or an amended plan under 11.04.

15.03.05 If the report confirms that the return to work plan or an amended plan in the terms of 11.04 will not help you to resume duty, the University will proceed to end your employment.

15.03.06 The University will support an application to your superannuation fund for ill-health retirement or temporary disability benefit under the rules of the superannuation fund, using the medical report, if obtained, as evidence.

15.03.07 If the superannuation fund decides that you can resume work, after a period of receipt of a temporary disability benefit, the University will manage your return to work under 11.04.

15.03.08 If you are not a member of a superannuation fund that provides for ill-health retirement or a temporary disability benefit or if the fund will not give you these benefits, the University will offer in writing:

• to allow you to submit a resignation and will accept it at once; or
• if you do not resign within 20 working days of the written advice, the University will, subject to 15.03.09, end your employment with the following payment instead of notice:
• 6 months salary, if in a continuing or convertible appointment or a fixed term of more than one year; or
• 2 months or to the end of the fixed term, whichever is smaller, if in a fixed-term of one year or less.

15.03.10 In assessing if a return to work plan could help you to resume duty, the medical practitioner or panel of medical practitioners will as far as possible apply the same standards used by your superannuation scheme, if any, to decide if you will be paid a disablement pension or other similar benefit. This may involve objectively balancing the inherent duties of the position and the possible short and longer term effects on your health.

15.03.11 These terms will not displace or override any existing or future workers' compensation schemes, Awards or legislation.

15.03.12 If you do not go to the medical examination the University will go on as if the examination had found that a return to work plan would not help you to resume duty. Your refusal in these circumstances will not be misconduct or lead to any greater penalty or loss of rights than would have resulted from an adverse medical report.

15.04 Prohibition of Compulsory Retirement

15.04.02 It is also unlawful on the grounds of your age to:

• require you to retire;
• threaten to retire you; or
• engage in conduct to cause you to retire.

15.05 Resignation

15.06 Exit Interviews

15.06.02 Used well, the exit interview feedback can:

• help reduce turnover;
• improve staff morale and job satisfaction;
• increase the efficiency of recruitment and employment practices;
• contribute to better work design;
• identify training opportunities for managers and supervisors; and
• identify a need for training in interpersonal skills.

15.06.04 Exit interviews will be conducted by senior and experienced staff of the Personnel Office with appropriate communication skills. All exchanges during the interview will be strictly confidential and privileged.

15.06.05 Your participation in an exit interview is entirely voluntary, everything said or suggested will be as confidential as you wish it to be, and no information from the interview will be used in any way against you.

15.06.06 The interview should be structured but loose enough to allow the interviewer to follow where they believe they need to go. The following topics are a starting point:

• major reason(s) for your decision to leave;
• other negative or frustrating factors in your workplace and work;
• positive and enjoyable aspects that you will miss;
• your plans and career aims;
• professional development and training which might have helped you;
• changes needed to recruitment and employment policies; and
• changes needed to management and supervisory policies.