Did you know Long Service Leave is an entitlement for your casual workers in a similar way to permanent staff?
Casual labour provides the flexibility needed to help ease the burden of peaks and troughs experienced by businesses. There is a direct and instant relationship between revenue, the outputs required, and costs associated. Having a workforce that is reliable, experienced and knows your business is beneficial on many levels. The responsibilities of employers to its permanent workforce compared to its casual labour pool is different in the immediate liabilities, such as annual leave and sick leave. However, longer term employee rights, such as Long Service Leave accrue in the same manner.
Casual workers are entitled to Long Service Leave.
So how does a small business manage this? The entitlements of casual workers are the same as for their permanent colleagues. Rules for Long Service Leave differ depending on things like award, the structure of a business and where it operates. If you have employees who have been with you for 7 or more years, it’s important to know the rules that apply to your business.
A common entitlement structure provides employee entitlements of 8 2/3 weeks of Long Service Leave after 10 years. From 7 years, should the employee leave for any reason, entitlements are determined on a pro rata basis. This means if an employee leaves after 8 years, they’re entitled to nearly 7 weeks of Long Service Leave.
Records for Long Service Leave need to be kept for longer than taxation requirements.
Determining Long Service Leave for permanent employees is relatively simple, as it is calculated based on their current employment conditions. For casual workers, it’s more complicated. In order to determine the amount of Long Service Leave that a casual worker is due, you need to determine the average number of hours worked over the full term of their employment. If you’re not prepared, this means trudging through old records, finding the hours worked each week for the past 8+ years!
That’s longer than you’re required to keep your taxation records!
At Knight BPO, we keep track of all of our client’s employee information so that your business is compliant. We track employee leave entitlements so you know your liabilities.
Oh. I am not yet a Knight BPO client, but I need help!
There are a number of government agencies that can provide the information you need to know your liabilities. The Fair Work Ombudsman, and WA State Government both have helpful resources, or you can speak with your accounting services provider.
Knight BPO can review your historical records to prepare a report on historical staff entitlements. It’s all a part of the onboarding service that gives you comfort that your business is compliant, that you know your liabilities, and that you have all of the information needed at your fingertips to maintain great relationships with your employees!!
