Scheme coverage

These trades include work done on homes, buildings, roads and other structures. If your workers prepare, build, repair or demolish sites, they’re covered.

Refer to the table below for some common building trade occupations, when that occupation was introduced to the Scheme and for a list of trade type codes you can use when registering your Workers online with LeavePlus.

This includes work with electrical systems, alarms, lighting and switchboards. If your workers install or maintain these systems, they’re covered. If you have a workshop that builds switchboards to order for a particular building or structure, your workers are covered even there.

Refer to the table below for some common electrical trade occupations, when that occupation was introduced to the Scheme and for a list of trade type codes you can use when registering your Workers online with LeavePlus. LeavePlus covers most Electrical Trades Work.

An electrical worker is also covered when:

• working in a factory or doing installation or maintenance work and
• the employer is contracting with its clients for electrical services work.

Typical work includes installing or laying cables. Electrical service work does not have to be linked to the construction or alteration of a building.

These trades involve welding, machining and working with industrial machinery. Workers may be covered if they erect structural steel or other metal building elements, install or repair building services, or install, repair or move industrial machinery.

Refer to the table below for some common metal trade occupations, when that occupation was introduced to the Scheme and for a list of trade type codes you can use when registering your Workers online with LeavePlus.

Some trades are only covered by LeavePlus in particular contexts. The following table lists some areas of trade that are partially covered. *This is not a full list. There are other partially covered trades.

Defining coverage for forepersons and supervisors

Forepersons directly supervising Workers carrying out covered work are themselves covered. Site supervisors, area managers and other higher management are not covered by the Scheme.

Work that is covered

A Worker (whether called a ‘foreperson’, ‘leading hand’ or otherwise) that:

• Is directly and principally responsible for and directly oversees other Workers (but not including Working Subcontractors) and ensures that work is being performed to the standard and schedule required
• May directly oversee and direct leading hands
• Would normally not spend more than 25% of a working day in the site office.

Work that is not covered

Manager or site supervisor (whether so called or not):

• Is principally part of and concerned with the issues involving the overall site management team, i.e. project manager, construction manager, engineering staff
• Is principally concerned with the management of the site and not day-to-day direction of Workers
• Will have an individual contract of employment/on staff salary arrangement
• Principally oversees the work of subcontractors
• Able to directly influence budgets
• Monitors trends in attendance and day to day queries but is not responsible for individual cases
• Responsible for overseeing general administrative functions at the site
• Usually works from a site office and is involved in various scheduling meetings and other meetings including meetings such as occupational health and safety, engineers meetings, site co-ordination etc.

Factory or workshop jobs, such as shopfitting, switchboard assembly, precast concrete work or industrial machinery services, may be covered by the scheme.

To check full coverage details for your business, read the Rules of the Scheme on our legislation page.

Under the Rules of the scheme, in any given Workers’ Days and Wages period where an individual Apprentice or Worker performs covered work for at least two -thirds of their employment, the Employer must record 100% of that individual’s employment in the Workers’ Days & Wages Return for that period. This is referred to by LeavePlus as the Two-thirds Rule.

Therefore, where a Worker is considered fully covered according to the Two-thirds Rule, the Employer is required to pay Long Service Leave Charges to LeavePlus calculated on 100% of the worker’s Ordinary Pay (not including overtime) for the total number of days worked.

A Worker has to be with the same Employer for the entire service period for the Two-thirds Rule to apply.

Workers whose service may be subject to the Two-thirds Rule include those whose work is covered on some sites but not on others. For example, Workers performing Landscape Gardening Services are covered for work on commercial sites but not for work on domestic housing sites. In the below example, an employee may work for the employer for the full return period (65 days), but perform a mix of covered (commercial = 44 days) and non-covered (domestic = 21 days) work.

Where the proportion of covered work to non-covered work is more than two-thirds (in this case 67%), the days and wages must be rounded up to reflect the full employment period.

Equally, where a worker has split duties between on-site-construction roles and office administration or surveying responsibilities, the Two-thirds Rule will also apply.

In this example, a Worker may work for the Employer for the full WDW period (65 days) but perform a mix of covered (on-site-construction = 47 days) and non-covered (office adminstration/surveying = 18 days) work.

Where the proportion of covered work to non-covered work is more than two-thirds (in this case 72%), the days and wages must be rounded up to reflect the full employment period.

For all instances where the proportion of covered work to non-covered work does not exceed two-thirds, then the service should be reported only as the days performing covered work and their equivalent total Ordinary Pay.