Leave approval and payment

Key information is provided here about employer obligations relating to long service leave approval and payment.

Refer to Division 1 (39A-39AE) of the Admin Act to ensure your organisation’s compliance when it comes to approving and paying long service leave.

Deciding Leave Applications

Employee applications for In-service leave must be for a minimum of 14 continuous days.

Within 14 days of receiving an In-service or Cessation application, your organisation must provide a written response to your employee stating whether their leave request has been granted or refused.

A refusal can only be made if you have reasonable business grounds for doing so. Details of the reasons for the refusal must also be provided to your employee in the written response.

Penalties may apply for breaching these requirements.

You must pay your employee for their In-service long service leave at the same time you would have paid them if they were working, unless their industrial instrument permits an alternative payment arrangement which you and your employee mutually agree to e.g. payment in full in advance or half pay over a longer duration.

The legislation prescribes the minimum payment that an employee must receive while on long service leave:

• The amount of leave an employee is entitled to is based on their working hours.
• If an employee takes leave while employed, they are entitled to be paid at an amount equal to their base rate of pay (including incentive-based payments and bonuses paid at least monthly) that would have been payable had they been at work (i.e. not taken the leave).
• If an employee is paid out their accrued leave on termination, they’re entitled to be paid at a rate as if they had taken the leave immediately before they stopped being employed.

However, depending on the terms of the employment agreement you have with your employee and the terms of any industrial instruments that apply to your employee, you may be required to pay your employee more than the minimum amount while they are on long service leave.

NOTE: Depending on the terms of employment with your employee, the amount of leave that the employee is entitled to receive from you and the amount of reimbursement you are entitled to receive from Coal LSL may not always be equal. Refer to the Employer Reimbursement Rules 2017 to ascertain your entitlement to reimbursement in each case.

You are required to make cessation payments within 30 days of receiving a Cessation application. Refer to Part 5A, Division 3 of the Admin Act 1992 for employer obligations related to cessation.

Insolvency or Closing Business

Refer to Section 48 of the Admin Act for your obligations in these circumstances. In brief: if your business is insolvent, closing or no longer operating, your employees can apply to Coal LSL to access their long service leave entitlement. Refer them to the Employer Insolvency Fact Sheet for information about applying for their leave entitlement under these circumstances.

Enquiries

If you have further questions, please get in touch with our Applications team email us or call 1300 852 625 between 8.30am and 5.00pm Monday to Friday (AEST).