Victorian real estate employers should be aware of the new Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic). The Act was passed in May and (unless proclaimed to start earlier) will commence operation on 1 November 2018.
The main changes are:
- Employees can take accrued (pro rata) long service leave after seven years
- All paid parental leave will count as service, and unpaid parental leave up to 12 months will count as service
- Parental leave longer than 12 months will not break continuity of service
- Casuals may have continuity of service recognised for the purposes of long service leave:
– if they take paid or unpaid parental leave;
– if the employer agrees in advance to the break between engagements;
– if the employee had a reasonable expectation of re-employment; or
– if the break is due to seasonal factors - An employee will be able to take long service leave in periods as short as one day, unless the employer refuses on reasonable business grounds
- There is now a broader definition being used in relation to transfer of business, which is likely to lead to more transferee employers being liable for long service leave entitlements
- Where an employee’s hours of work have changed over a period of time, there is a more generous method of calculating the average
- Penalties for employers have been transferred to the criminal jurisdiction and the amounts of penalties increased.
