Updates to Long Service Leave Act
The Victorian State Government recently passed the Long Service Leave Bill 2017, resulting in the Long Service Leave Act 1992 being replaced with the Long Service Leave Act 2018. The updated Act will come into effect from 1 November 2018 and will have a number of significant impacts on employers.
The update is said to modernise the long service leave laws in Victoria by increasing the flexibility of taking long service leave and also introduces changes to the continuity of service. There are a number of key changes that employers should be aware of. These include:
- Employees are permitted to take long service leave following seven years of service, as opposed to the ten years required in the 1992 Act
- Parental leave for non-casual employees no longer breaks continuous service
- Parental leave for casual employees will not break the continuity of service if up to two years as opposed to one year
- Changes to the calculation of ordinary hours; which may include average hours, for the entire period of continuous employment if it advantages an employee whose ordinary hours have varied during their service period
- Employees will be able to request period of long service leave in blocks of a single day as opposed to in larger blocks of time.
There are multiple actions required of an employer to ensure the new Long Service Leave Act can be administered effectively. These includes:
- Reviewing and updating long service leaves policies and processes
- Ensuring employees are aware of the new legislation
- Ensuring employment documentation is updated accordingly to support the accurate calculation of future long service leave payments.
If you think these changes may impact you or your business, please call us on 03 5443 0344.
