New long service leave regulations kick in
New regulations for local government employees’ long service leave are now in place, providing a raft of improvements for workers across Western Australia.
The Western Australian Government’s new Local Government (Long Service Leave) Regulations 2024 enhance clarity and provide certainty of worker entitlements, including strengthening the portability scheme.
This means that when staff change employment from one local government to another, all their service in the local government sector counts towards their long service leave accrual.
Other benefits include:
- a longer permitted period of break between local government sector employers to maintain continuity of service
- allowing Commonwealth paid parental leave to count towards long service leave accrual
- allowing advanced long service leave and the cashing out of long service leave
- clear protections for entitlements in the event of unfair or unlawful dismissal.
Following sector feedback, small updates have been made to the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industry’s Long Service Leave Guideline and the form for the transfer of long service leave entitlements to assist local governments.