1. Background Information
2. Policy Statement
3. Policy Purpose
4. Application of Policy
5. Approvals
6. Revisions made to this Policy
7. Further Assistance

1. Background Information

This policy has been developed in support of the provisions for long service leave at Australian Catholic University.

2. Policy Statement

A staff member is normally entitled to long service leave after 7 years service with the University.

3. Policy Purpose

This policy informs staff members of their entitlement to Long Service Leave and its application at ACU.

4. Application of Policy

4.1 This policy applies to all continuing and fixed term staff of the University. Staff engaged for a specific fraction of a full-time appointment shall be entitled to the amount of leave available on a pro-rata basis relative to that staff member’s fraction of employment.

4.2 Long service leave is calculated at the rate of 1.3 weeks for every year of continuous paid service.

4.3 A protected staff member, as defined by the Australian Catholic University Staff Enterprise Agreement 2017 - 2021 (the Agreement), accrues long service leave at the following rates in combination and not separately:

1. if employed in ACT or NSW, 2 months long service leave on full pay after 10 years of service; or,
2. if employed in Queensland, 13 weeks long service leave on full pay after 10 years of service and 1.3 weeks long service leave on full pay for each of the following 5 years of service; and, thereafter
3. if employed in Queensland, NSW or ACT, 5 months long service leave on full pay per 10 years of service.

Service includes any service credited to the staff member at the time of her or his commencement with the University.

A protected staff member in NSW or ACT who made an irrevocable election to transfer to the uniform accrual rate shall accrue long service leave at the rate of 1.3 weeks per year of service.

Determining Eligibility for Long Service Leave

4.4 For the purpose of determining a staff member's entitlement to long service leave the following does not count as service:

• any period of prior service with a higher education institution/s for which long service leave accrued has been taken;
• any period of prior service with a higher education institution/s for which payment in lieu of long service leave has been made by a higher education institution/s;
• any period of prior service with a higher education institution/s for which a staff member has an entitlement to payment in lieu by a higher education institution/s;
• any period of leave without pay at ACU, whether continuous or aggregate that exceeds 20 days in any year of service.

4.5 Service credits for long service leave are transferable to the University from other Australian higher education institutions except where a staff member's appointment is externally funded and the grant does not provide for long service leave payment.

A staff member shall be entitled to have service with previous institutions recognised for the purpose of determining the long service entitlement of the staff member provided that:

• any break in service with other Australian higher education institutions does not exceed 3 calendar months, except where a person had been made redundant, in which case the break in service shall not exceed 52 weeks; and
• a staff member shall make any claim for recognition of service within 6 calendar months of date of commencement. The University shall, as soon as possible after the date of receipt of the staff member's claim, notify the staff member in writing as to the amount of service with previous higher education institution(s) that is recognised for long service leave purposes. A notice giving full details of the provisions for transfer of long service leave credits shall be provided to the staff member.
• If a staff member's service with the University is not continuous, the aggregate period of service of the staff member, including service recognised from another institution, shall count as service for the purpose of determining the entitlement of the staff member to long service leave.
• If service with another institution is recognised for long service leave credit, the staff member is required to complete a period of 3 years service with the University before being eligible to take long service leave, unless the relevant member of the Executive agrees to a lesser period in special circumstances.

Planning and Taking Long Service Leave

4.6 A staff member who is entitled to long service leave will take the leave at a time or times that are mutually convenient to the University. The staff member must give the University six (6) months written notice to take the leave unless the University agrees to a shorter period of notice.

4.7 A staff member will normally take periods of long service leave in multiples of weeks. In exceptional circumstances, a staff member, upon written request, may be granted approval to take long service leave for minimum periods of 1 or 2 days per week normally for a minimum period of 3 months. Such circumstances include but are not limited to where a staff member has approval to transition to a retirement contract arrangement.

4.8 The taking of long service leave shall normally be on full pay, however, a staff member may apply to convert all or part of the period of entitlement to double the period by taking leave on half pay. When a staff member takes long service leave on half pay, the staff member will be regarded as a part-time staff member for the purposes of leave accruals and superannuation contributions.

4.9 If a staff member takes long service leave at half pay, their normal superannuation contributions will reduce to 50%, with the University’s contribution being equivalently adjusted. The staff member may elect, in writing, to maintain and pay their full contribution and top up the University contribution from 50% to the full level of its normal contributions.

4.10 If a staff member is ill or incapacitated for two or more consecutive working days while on long service leave the staff member shall be placed on personal sick leave and no deduction shall be made from long service leave credits for the days in question, provided that a medical certificate from a registered health practitioner or a statutory declaration from the staff member is submitted for the period of the illness.

4.11 If a Public Holiday occurs during the period that a staff member is absent on long service leave and such holiday is observed on the relevant campus, no deduction shall be made for that day from the long service leave credits of the staff member.

Payment of Untaken Long Service Leave on Termination of Employment

4.12 A staff member, or where applicable the staff member's legal representative or estate representative, shall be entitled to receive payment in lieu of long service leave accrued at the University but not taken as at the date of termination of service where:

• the employment of the staff member at the University terminates after service of more than 7 years (including recognised service with another employer); or
• after 4 years recognised service at the University if the staff member retires at her or his superannuation preservation age or later (including on the grounds of ill health) or the staff member dies.

A staff member who has service recognised for long service leave accrual purposes shall only be entitled to receive, on termination, the monetary value of leave accrued at the University but not taken. Where such payment is made in lieu of long service leave the amount of such payment is calculated at the rate or rates of the staff member's salary at the time of termination as applied to the staff member.

Management of Excess Long Service Leave

4.13 Where a staff member has a long service leave balance in excess of 16 weeks, the Nominated Supervisor may give the staff member written notice to take up to 12 weeks of long service leave, provided that:

• the staff member shall not be required to take any long service leave within 24 months of the staff member’s agreed retirement date as formally notified in writing to the University by the staff member;
• the minimum period of such leave shall be 6 weeks;
• the Nominated Supervisor shall give the staff member written notice of a minimum of 6 months of the date on which such leave is to be taken;
• the University shall not thereafter require the staff member to take a further period of long service leave within 2 years of the end of the period of leave;
• a staff member who provides notice of her or his plans to take Long Service Leave at a particular date in the future may apply for deferral of the application of this sub clause.

Cashing Out Long Service Leave

4.14 Where eligible for Long Service Leave, a staff member may elect to cash out a portion of their leave such that either:

• The staff member will retain a minimum balance of 9 weeks, or
• The staff member may apply to take a period of long service leave and to cash out an equivalent amount of long service leave.

The staff member must provide written notice to the University stating that she or he wishes to forgo taking the Long Service Leave.

5. Approvals

An application for long service leave must be submitted for approval by the appropriate delegated officer, using the University’s Staff Connect facility. Information on delegated officers for leave approvals is available in the Delegations of Authority Policy and Register.

6. Revisions made to this Policy

The University may make changes to this policy and procedures from time to time to improve the effectiveness of its operation. In this regard, any staff member who wishes to make any comments about this policy may forward their suggestions to Human Resources.

7. Further Assistance

Any staff member who requires assistance in understanding this policy should first consult their nominated supervisor who is responsible for the implementation and operation of these arrangements in their work area. Should further information or advice be required staff should visit Service Central.

Back to the Top

Guidelines

• Leave Management - Conversation Guide for Supervisors (Guidelines, PDF File, 382.7 KB)

Policy

• Long Service Leave Policy (Policy, PDF File, 95.3 KB)