Portable long service leave allows workers to take their long service leave from employer to employer.
What is portable long service leave?
Traditionally, long service leave is a period of paid leave granted to employees in recognition of a long period of service to an employer. Most employees in South Australia must remain with one employer for 10 years to be eligible to take 13 weeks of paid leave.
It was recognised that funding in the community services sector is often through government grants and donations and employment opportunities are predominantly contract-based. Employees in the sector are frequently required to move between employers on a regular basis according to the allocation of funding from year to year. Realising the benefits that portable long service leave delivered to the construction industry through the Construction Industry Long Service Leave Act 1987, the SA Government worked together with employer and employee industry associations in the sector to develop their own portable model, allowing long service leave to be taken from employer to employer within the community services sector.
So how will it work exactly?
For employees performing work covered by the scheme, each of their employers will report to us on a quarterly basis to confirm their service to the sector in that quarter. Once they have recorded 120 months of service (equivalent to 10 years), we will pay them to take a 13 week break. Each year after that, they'll accrue another 1.3 weeks of long service leave.
How is service credited?
A worker will be credited with 3 months of service per quarter if they have worked for 1 or more shifts in an eligible role. If they didn't work in the quarter, but they were paid for leave from an eligible role, they'll also receive 3 months of service for that quarter.
Workers can record a maximum of 12 months of service each year.
What are the quarterly periods?
The quarterly periods are:
- 1 January - 31 March
- 1 April - 30 June
- 1 July - 30 September
- 1 October - 31 December
How can workers check their entitlements?
When a worker is first registered, they will be issued with a registration number. They'll need to register for access to the Worker Portal when they login to their account for the first time. It's a good idea for workers to check their entitlements on a regular basis to ensure all their employers have registered them. They will also be able to see how close they are to taking that well-deserved holiday!