Teachers like all other civil servants are entitled to 3 days bereavement leave - Education Ministry

The Ministry of Education has clearly stated that teachers like all other civil servants are entitled to 3 days bereavement leave.

Permanent Secretary, Alison Burchell says contrary to the General Orders, it is noted that Ministry of Education officials have been erroneously providing all teachers with 3 working days of paid compassionate leave in addition to the 3 working days of paid bereavement leave.

Burchell says given the fact that this is contrary to the General Orders, the Ministry has issued a circular to office heads clarifying the Ministry’s bereavement policy.

She stresses that all teachers will still be entitled to 3 working days of paid bereavement leave, just like all other workers in the public and private sectors.

Burchell says it is important to highlight that given the nature of the employment which coincides with the school terms, teachers are entitled to many more paid holiday days as opposed to other civil servants and workers employed in the private sector.

She says while other civil servants are entitled to 18 or 21 working days of paid annual leave (depending on their salary band) and Government wage earners such as drivers and messengers are entitled to 12 to 15 days (depending on years of service), the General Orders provide that teachers are entitled to holidays during the school holidays, which amounts to 11 weeks (or a total of 55 working days) of paid holiday, with the exclusion of those days when teachers are required to attend training and prepare for classes.

Burchell says it is worth noting that the Act only provides for 10 working days of paid annual leave, and a large number of workers in the private sector only receive 10 working days of paid annual leave.

She also says that while mandating a nationwide paid bereavement policy that is already generous by international standards, the General Orders do not require that employers provide separate compassionate leave days to any civil servant, including any teacher.

Burchell says this is the case for all Fijian workers, from both the public and the private sectors.