Q: How long can an employee be absent on stress leave? Do we pay this leave at normal rates? Is the pay reduced the longer the employee is off work? I have an employee who has told me he is off for the rest of the day and needs a week’s stress leave. What documentation does he have to produce?

A: Technically speaking, there is no such thing as ‘stress leave’.

If your employee is unable to fulfil their duties due to stress, they may take personal leave. They would have available to them the amount of paid personal leave they have accrued as usual. This would be paid at the employee’s normal rate of pay. The amount paid does not reduce the longer they are absent on paid personal leave. You may demand that the employee produces a medical certificate as evidence.

Alternatively, the employee may make a workers’ compensation claim for a stress-related injury. If this happened, you would be required to comply with the obligations on employers under the workers’ compensation scheme in your jurisdiction. If the employee’s claim were accepted, this would mean you would have to make payments to them while they are unable to return to work.

Please note: The answer is correct at the time of publishing. Be aware that laws may change over time. Refer to Personal/carer’s leave for current advice.