How portable long service leave works in Australia’s black coal mining industry

Coal LSL safeguards portable long service leave benefits for eligible employees in this country’s second largest export industry. On March 24, Coal LSL CEO Darlene Perks and General Manager Legal Peter Kembrey appeared before the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee at the Additional Budget Senate Estimates hearings at Parliament House. It was the fourth time Coal LSL had appeared before the committee to talk about how portable long service leave in Australia’s coal mining industry works, how long service leave is accrued, when it can be accessed by employees, how the levy paid by employers is calculated and how the money flows within the Fund. You can read Ms Perks' Opening Statement now. Points talked about at the hearing included:

• Long service leave accrues as hours, not dollars. Leave hours are accrued monthly and held in individual long service leave records. We rely on the information provided by employers in the monthly Levy Advice form to maintain employee service histories.

• After reaching eight years’ qualifying service, eligible employees can access up to 455 hours of leave. This applies to the casual workforce as well as full-time and part-time employees.

• Accrued long service leave hours are portable, allowing eligible employees to retain their entitlement between employment within the industry, or if they take a break from it for up to eight years.

• Coal LSL collects payroll levies from employers of eligible employees on behalf of the Australian Government. The long service leave levy is a mandatory employer tax which does not come out of employee wages.

• Levies are held in a pooled investment fund to cover payment of long service leave hours for all eligible employees.

• The leave application and payment process is transacted through the employer. After long service leave hours are taken by the employee, the employer claims reimbursement from Coal LSL; claims are paid from the pooled Fund.

Coal LSL is committed to ensuring eligible employees have access to their rightful long service leave entitlements, and employers understand and meet their legislative obligations.

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