Ask Lisa
Dear Lisa
Please advise on the number of long service leave weeks early childhood teachers are entitled to when they work for 17 years.I have worked for the same employer since 1998 as an educator before becoming a teacher in 2000. I worked full time right up to December 2005. I returned to work on a part time basis in 2006, working two days a week and changed that to three days a week sometime in 2009. I am now working three days a week. Since 2011, I have been doing occasional casual days and have also done blocks of full time work. I have not taken any of my long service leave and have been advised by my employer that I have 13 weeks of long service leave. Please advise as to whether this is correct.
RK
Dear RK
The Long Service Leave Act 1955 provides for two months of long service leave for every 10 years of service, which equates to 0.8667 weeks per year of service.
This is to be at your current ordinary rate of pay or the averaged rate of pay over the last five years (if your hours of employment have varied), whichever is greater.
The IEU is happy to assist members in calculating their entitlements. Members need to provide their commencement date with their current employer.
The IEU also needs to know of any leave without pay that may have been taking during the course of your employment, as leave without pay does not count for service when calculating an entitlement to long service leave.
You also need to know that if you have had a break in employment with your current employer for more than three months (such as a temporary contract followed by a break in employment and then a new contract was issued) then your commencement date is the date you were employed from the current contract.
Lisa
