Portable long service leave allows you to take your entitlement 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 paid leave.
But as anyone in the industry knows, construction is a little different from the normal 9-5. As the industry is mostly project based, workers can move from project to project and employer to employer. Back in the 1970’s employer and employee industry groups recognised this unique aspect and that most workers performing building, electrical and metal work on-site would not be able to stay with one employer long enough to accrue long service leave. Realising the benefits of long service leave and wanting to ensure a strong, vibrant, and attractive industry they adopted a portable model and Portable Long Service Leave was born. This means long service leave can be taken from employer to employer as long as you stay in the industry.
Sounds pretty good right? So how does it work exactly?
If you are performing work covered by the scheme, each of your employers will report to us regularly the number of service days you record. Once you have recorded 2,600 service days (equivalent to 10 years full time employment) we will pay you to take a 13 week break. Every additional 200 service days recorded entitles you to another week of leave!
What is a service day?
You will be credited with one service day for the following paid days:
- Days worked over 5 hours
- Annual leave
- Personal/sick leave
- Public holidays
- Rostered days off
- Workers compensation (up to a period of 2 years)
- Trade school days (apprentices)
You can record a maximum of 260 service days per year (5 days per week x 52 weeks).
How can I check my entitlement?
When you are first registered, we will issue you with a registration number. You'll need to register for access to the Worker portal when you login to your account for the first time. It's a good idea to check it on a regular basis to ensure all your employers register you. You will also be able to see how close you are to taking that well deserved holiday!