15Salary of certain eligible employees undertaking employment during a period of leave of absence without pay

#### 15 Salary of certain eligible employees undertaking employment during a period of leave of absence without pay (1) This regulation applies to an eligible employee in respect of whom the circumstances referred to in paragraph 13(2)(b) or (c) apply where the eligible employee undertakes prescribed employment (being employment of the same kind as the eligible employee’s initial employment) in respect of which the salary payable to the eligible employee is higher than the salary that would be payable to the eligible employee if the eligible employee had continued to undertake his initial employment. (2) Where: (a) this regulation applies to an eligible employee who is on leave of absence; (b) the eligible employee has not, during the period of 12 months immediately preceding a particular day in the period of leave of absence, continuously undertaken prescribed employment, being prescribed employment by virtue of which this regulation applies to the eligible employee; and (c) a certificate specifying a date not later than the particular day has not been given under subregulation (4) in respect of the eligible employee; the annual rate of salary of the eligible employee on the particular day shall, for the purposes of the Act, be an amount per annum equal to the annual rate of salary that would be payable to the eligible employee on the particular day if the eligible employee had continued to undertake his initial employment. (3) Where: (a) this regulation applies to an eligible employee who is on leave of absence; (b) the eligible employee has: (i) during a period of not less than 12 months immediately preceding a particular day in the period of leave of absence; or (ii) if a certificate specifying a date not later than the particular day has been given in respect of the eligible employee under subregulation (4)—from and including the day specified in the certificate; continuously undertaken prescribed employment, being prescribed employment by virtue of which this regulation applies to the eligible employee; and (c) at any time during the relevant period the eligible employee has been paid in respect of prescribed employment that he has undertaken salary at an annual rate that is lower than the annual rate of salary of the eligible employee on that particular day; then, subject to regulation 16, the annual rate of salary of the eligible employee on the particular day in the period of leave of absence shall, for the purposes of the Act, be an amount per annum equal to the annual rate of salary that would be payable to him on the particular day if he had continued to undertake the employment in respect of which salary was payable to him at the lower or lowest rate, as the case may be, during the relevant period. (4) If the Commissioner is of the opinion that there is a likelihood that, from and including a particular day during the period of leave of absence: (a) an eligible employee to whom this regulation applies will, for a continuous period of not less than 12 months, undertake the prescribed employment by virtue of which this regulation applies to the eligible employee; or (b) where the eligible employee has undertaken the prescribed employment referred to in paragraph (a) for a continuous period of less than 12 months immediately preceding the particular day—the eligible employee will undertake that employment for a continuous period of less than 12 months that together with the first‑mentioned period will not be less than a period of 12 months; the Commissioner shall give a certificate to that effect specifying the day (not being a day earlier than the day on which the certificate was given) on which the period referred to in paragraph (a) or (b), as the case may be, in relation to the eligible employee will commence. (5) For the purposes of this regulation, where: (a) immediately before a period of prescribed leave this regulation applies to an eligible employee; (b) subregulation (6) does not apply in relation to the period of prescribed leave; and (c) this regulation again applies to the eligible employee on the expiration of the period of prescribed leave; the period of prescribed leave shall be disregarded and the periods in respect of which this regulation applies to the eligible employee, being the period immediately preceding the period of prescribed leave and the period immediately following the period of prescribed leave, shall be treated as a continuous period. (6) Where: (a) immediately before a period of prescribed leave this regulation applies to an eligible employee; and (b) during the period of prescribed leave salary is payable to the eligible employee at a rate that is higher than the rate of salary that would be payable to the eligible employee if during that period the eligible employee were undertaking the eligible employee’s initial employment; the eligible employee shall, for the purposes of this regulation, be deemed to undertake prescribed employment during the period of prescribed leave. (7) In this regulation: > initial employment, in relation to an eligible employee who undertakes prescribed employment during a period of leave of absence without pay, means the prescribed employment first undertaken by the eligible employee after the commencement of the period of leave of absence. > relevant period, in relation to an eligible employee who undertakes prescribed employment on a particular day during a period of leave of absence without pay, means: (a) if paragraph (b) does not apply—the period of 12 months immediately preceding the particular day; or (b) if the eligible employee has, for a continuous period of less than 12 months immediately preceding the particular day, performed prescribed employment, being prescribed employment by virtue of which this regulation applies to the eligible employee—that lesser period.