<p>Spousal Leave</p><p>Short spousal leave An eligible employee who produces a certificate from a medical practitioner which states the spouse's expected date of confinement, is entitled to one week paid spousal leave (short spousal leave) in connection with the birth of a child for whom that employee has accepted responsibility. </p><p>Spousal leave usually commences from the time of the birth, not before however, the exact timing of such leave shall be at the employee’s discretion. For example:  an employee may seek to take the spousal leave immediately after the birth, or  an employee may prefer to continue working for the duration of the mother’s stay in hospital, and take the first week the mother and child are home.</p><p>Long spousal leave for primary caregiver If the spouse is to be the primary caregiver, he/she is entitled to:  one week paid (if eligible) spousal leave (short spousal leave); and  a further 51 weeks unpaid spousal leave (long spousal leave), to be taken from the birth of the child up to the first birthday of the child. </p><p>Spouses are not to take parental leave at same time An employee is not entitled to parental leave, other than short spousal leave, short adoption leave or short surrogacy leave, when his or her spouse is on parental leave.</p><p>Paid pre-natal leave for the spouse In addition to paid spousal leave, an eligible employee who presents a medical certificate from a doctor stating that their spouse is pregnant will have access to paid pre-natal leave up to a total of either 5, 7.25 or 8 hours (based on the average number of ordinary daily hours) per pregnancy to attend related medical appointments prior to the birth of a child/children.</p><p>Please note: Paid pre-natal leave is not available to employees on unpaid leave</p><p>Unpaid Spousal Leave</p><p>Those employees who do not meet the qualifying service period for paid spousal and paid pre-natal leave are entitled to the following for the birth of a child of the employees spouse:  an unbroken period of up to 1 week unpaid short parental leave;  a further unbroken period of up to 51 weeks unpaid long parental leave.</p><p>The leave must not extend beyond one year after the child was born unless an extension has been granted.</p><p>Uncontrolled copy. Refer to the Department of Education, Training and Employment Policy and Procedure Register at http://ppr.det.qld.gov.au to ensure you have the most current version of this document. Page 1 of 1</p>