Changes to Long Service Leave

All Victorian employees are entitled to the minimum Long Service Leave provisions of the Long Service Leave Act. A minimum of 13 weeks Long Service Leave applies after 15 years of continuous service. Employees receive their ordinary pay whilst on leave.
The Victorian Long Service Leave provisions apply to all Victorian employees who are not entitled to better provisions contained in a Federal Award, enterprise or individual agreement.

Changes to Long Service Leave

The Parliament of Victoria has recently enacted an amendment to the Long Service Leave Act 1992.
Although the change is effective from 1 January 2006, it will affect the measurement of Long Service Leave as at 30 June 2005 for employees covered by the legislation.
The main changes introduced by the amendment are as follows:

	The timeframe for an entitlement to a pro rata Long Service Leave payment on termination has been reduced from 10 years to 7 years
	The qualifying period required before an employee is able to take Long Service Leave has been reduced from 15 years to 10 years.
	Other minor changes are the inclusion of casuals and apprentices in the definition of employee and a change to the impact of family leave under certain circumstances.

For employers

If you are an employer, it is important that you update your HR systems to enable calculation of Long Service Leave according to these changes. Make sure that the supplier of HR software will be distributing updates accordingly.

To read more, visit the Victorian Industrial Relations website.

Published : 18 August 2005