Workers

Claims processing time-frames during non-peak periods are typically 1-4 days for automated claims, and around 10-11 business days for claims which require manual processing. Peak periods such as Christmas, Easter, School Holidays and End of Financial Year often have longer than average processing times due to the volume of claims received. Always make sure to submit your online claim well in advance if you are thinking of taking your long service leave at any of these times.

Log in to the LeavePlus member portal (or setup your access here), then select the ‘Submit a Claim’ tab from the menu.

Submitting your application:

All Long Service Leave claims must be submitted through the state in which your most recent service was recorded. If your last service was accrued in Victoria, then LeavePlus will be happy to process your claim.

All claims for long service leave must be submitted online at this time using our secure online system.

Log in to the LeavePlus member portal (or setup your access here), then select the ‘Submit a Claim’ tab from the menu.

What you will need:

Before you begin, it’s a good idea to have scanned copies / readable photos of your most recent three pay slips ready to upload.  Most claim applications will automatically present you with a rate of pay to accept, but in some cases, pay slips may need to be used to calculate the rate of pay for your claim payment.

You will also need your tax file number and the details of the bank account which you would like your claim payment to be deposited into:

1. Complete the details requested in the online claim form.
   
2. Upload your pay slips at the end of your application if requested.
3. Wait for your confirmation email.

If you need to send pay slips to us separately, please email them to claims@leaveplus.com.au

To register your email address with us for the first time, request an email or postal form, or if you’re unable to submit an online claim, please call 1300 264 683, and our team will be happy to help.

Standard Claims

Currently employed workers can claim any available entitlements between one week as a minimum, your total balance as a maximum, or anything in between; it’s up to you. Just make sure that any time to be taken off work has been agreed upon between yourself and your employer in advance.

Your claim application will offer you a rate of pay reflecting the ordinary rate of pay from your current job.

Unemployed Claims

Unemployed workers can still claim any available entitlements between one week as a minimum, your total balance as a maximum, or anything in between; it’s up to you.

If you want to claim all of your available Long Service Leave, just tick the ALL box, otherwise please nominate how many weeks and days you would like to claim.

The rate of pay for unemployed claims will be based on the standard wage you earned when last working in a role covered by the Scheme (and indexed to match current rates where applicable).

If you wish to cancel your claim because you have found work before your claim payment has been made, you can simply contact us and request that your claim be cancelled. All requests for the above issues can be emailed to claims@leaveplus.com.au or can contact us by phone making sure in either case that you quote your LeavePlus member number and full personal details for identification purposes.

Left Industry Claims

If you submit your claim as leaving or having left the industry or retired, your entire available entitlement will be paid out to you, as this will be classed as an eligible termination payment. This includes all service up until your termination date so we will need to verify any service which has not been recorded up until this date.

A note about “cashing out” Long Service Leave

LeavePlus recommends that Long Service Leave entitlements be used to take a well-earned break from work.

If you wish to claim Long Service Leave payments but not take any time off work, there is nothing within our rules to prevent you from doing so. Just make sure that your employer is aware that you are claiming Long Service Leave payments but not taking any time off work as unpaid leave.

Please also consider any tax implications. Long Service Leave payments are classed as a taxable income – claiming while still working will increase your total taxable income for the year.

Your Long Service Leave claim payment is paid directly into your chosen bank account. Simply provide your BSB number and account details in the application form. When your claim has been approved, we will email you to let you know when to expect your payment. Please note that you need the agreement of your current employer before taking any leave from work.

Your claim payment will be deposited to you in one transaction, subject to tax (calculated at a weekly equivalent, rather than on the whole amount).

We will provide you with a pay summary to advise of the gross payment details and amounts of tax withheld etc.

Tax Free Threshold

When completing a Long Service Leave claim application form, you must answer the Tax Free Threshold Section of the claim form.  Select either Yes or No to claiming the Tax Free Threshold on your payment.

LeavePlus cannot provide advice on whether an individual is eligible to claim a tax free threshold.

If you would like to find out more information regarding your eligibility to claim the Tax Free Threshold, please visit the Australian Tax Office’s website at www.ato.gov.au

Extending your leave

Long Service Leave claim payments are deposited to you in one transaction.

If your claim is still in process and has not yet been paid to you by LeavePlus, you can advise us of your request to extend your Long Service Leave claim via email at claims@leaveplus.com.au

If your claim has already been paid out to you, then you cannot extend that claim, as it is a completed transaction. You will need to submit a new claim to claim any further Long Service Leave.

It’s important to remember that no money or dollar value is associated with your service record as a worker in Victoria* – only a record of the time you have built up with LeavePlus from performing covered work.

Calculated Rate of Pay:

The rate of pay for your claim matches your ordinary rate of pay from your job.  Your wage information is regularly provided to LeavePlus by your employer.  We use this information to present you with an accurate ‘calculated’ rate of pay when you claim.

By accepting the rate of pay presented in your claim, you won’t need to provide any pay slips or further information.  Payment will generally occur within 1-3 business days from application for this type of claim.

Employer Wage Verification:

If we are not able to present you with a ‘calculated’ rate of pay, you may be offered the ‘Employer Wage Verification’ option.  This prompts your employer to supply us with further wage information so that we can quickly progress your claim.

In some cases, we may not be able to offer a ‘calculated rate of pay’ or the ’employer wage verification’ option.  We may ask you to provide payslips to understand:

Has your weekly wage increased over the last 3 years beyond standard Construction Industry EBA increases?

How does your weekly wage for your trade compare to the wage rates prescribed in current Construction Industry EBA’s?

Subject to the results of this review, LeavePlus may determine that your claim will be paid at a lesser amount. In these instances LeavePlus will contact you and explain the decision prior to your claim being paid.

Explore the menus below to see how various working circumstances can affect your claim payment amount.

*specific dollar values are applicable only where relating to any voluntary contributions you may have made as a self-employed Working Subcontractor.

Full Time Employed

If your current or most recent job is / was performing work covered by LeavePlus, we will require copies of your three most recent pay slips to determine your rate of pay. The pay slips you provide must be from the weeks immediately preceding the date on which your application is received by LeavePlus.

Please note if your application is submitted in advance of taking your leave, the rate of pay for your claim will be calculated according to your pay slips supplied to LeavePlus at the time of your long service leave application.

When completing your claim online, you may be presented with a rate of pay to accept for your claim. This is determined using the rate of pay details provided to LeavePlus by your most recent employer. You can choose to accept this rate of pay – if not, we will contact your employer or ask for pay slips. This process will take longer.

Rate of pay will be calculated as standard hours per week (usually a 36 or 38 week after RDO deductions), multiplied by your standard hourly rate, plus any applicable allowances. Overtime is not included as part of your rate of pay.

Depending on when your last service was accrued, LeavePlus may index your rate of pay in line with any applicable industry wage rises to match modern rates.

Part Time Employed

Permanent employees who are on part time hours can claim their Long Service Leave; the rate of pay per week of long service leave will be paid out as if that worker is working a full time week. Whether that week is classed as a 36, 38, or 40 hour week will be determined by your pay slips.

If your current or most recent employment in the Construction Industry has been on a Casual basis, the gross weekly wage for your claim will be calculated based on the average weekly wage reported to LeavePlus over the last 260 days (52 weeks) of service by your most recent employer(s).

This calculation method is applied to determine the rate of pay for all claims made by Casual Workers. Depending on when your last service was accrued, LeavePlus may index your rate of pay using current Wage Price Index information.

Where your most recent service has not or is not yet due to be reported by your current or most recent employer, this service information will not be included when calculating an average weekly wage for your claim.

You may be offered a calculated rate of pay when you submit your claim online. If you accept the rate of pay, your claim paid at this rate and will usually be paid within 3 business days.

If you do not accept the weekly wage offered, you will be contacted by a Claims Consultant. Should it be determined that you are a Casual Worker, the rate of pay calculated for your claim will be identical to the weekly wage as offered online.

Your rate of pay is inclusive of any applicable allowances*. The most common inclusions are site / tool / leading hand / height etc.

The main allowances which will not be included as part of your claim payment are meals / travel / CRIB etc. No overtime nor allowances pertaining to overtime hours will be included as part of your claim payment.

*Where the worker’s pay slip from the week immediately preceding their leave indicates a full week of remuneration, and includes any days performing covered work in that week, only the allowances pertaining to that particular week will be included as part of the calculation for the weekly rate of pay for the long service leave claim.

Calculated Rate of Pay:

The rate of pay for your claim matches your ordinary rate of pay as a Working Director. LeavePlus is regularly updated with your wage information via your quarterly Workers Days and Wages submission. We use this information to present you with an accurate ‘calculated’ rate of pay when you apply to claim Long Service Leave.

By accepting the rate of pay presented in your claim, you won’t need to provide any pay slips or further information. Payment will generally occur within 1-3 business days from application for this type of claim.

Complex Claims:

In some cases, we may not be able to offer you a ‘calculated rate of pay’, or you may choose not to accept the offered rate. These types of claims will be more complex and will require additional time to process.

We will request further information and proof of financial documentation to determine an accurate rate of pay for your claim, consistent with the documentation you provide.

If you are unable to provide proof of financial documentation, LeavePlus reserves the right to put your claim ‘on hold’ or pay your claim at the Minimum Contribution Rate for your trade.

Any excess above this rate from previous contributions will then be refunded to your company in a separate ‘adjustment’ process.

Subcontractors often have more than one component to their entitlement by accruing service in two different ways; as well as having been self-employed, many have also accrued service as a worker.

Any Working Subcontractor component consists of a refund of the voluntary contributions you have made, together with the interest earned on what has been accrued.

For any entitlement accrued from a Worker Service component, you are paid according to your last recorded gross weekly wage as a Worker, adjusted to reflect any industry-wide pay rises that have occurred between the last recorded wage and you taking leave. If you still have pay slips from your most recent construction role as an employee, you must provide these with your claim application. This part of the claim payment is classed as a taxable income, therefore tax will be withheld and you will be issued a payment summary detailing the amount of tax withheld in your claim.

For further information about how your worker service entitlement is calculated click here.

Interstate

If nominated in your claim application, LeavePlus can include any applicable interstate entitlement as part of your claim payment. However, the rate of pay for any interstate component cannot be determined by LeavePlus – instead it will be determined by the LSL scheme for the state/territory in which that service was performed.

If you need to query the rate of pay for any interstate component of your claim, please visit our Interstate Schemes page for the contact details of the relevant interstate LSL schemes.

Shift

A dedicated policy applies to workers who are defined as being paid on a ‘shift rate’ from performing afternoon or night shifts on a permanent and continuous shift roster – working shifts that are continuously rostered for the same hours and times.

Continuous shift work also means that the roster is not interrupted, other than when an employee is on paid leave – redeployment from an afternoon or night shift to day shift is deemed as interrupting continuous shift work.

The following timeframes determine the rate of pay for long service leave claims for workers who are engaged in performing continuous afternoon or night shifts rosters:

Less than 3 Months – Payment will be at your ordinary rate of pay prior to you starting on the afternoon / nightshift.

3 to 6 Months – Payment will be the average rate of pay that you have received over the last 12 months.

More than 6 Months – Payment will be at the afternoon / night shift rate that you currently receive.

Offshore

An offshore worker normally works in 14 or 28 day cycles. There are various different types of cycles which can be worked within these periods e.g.:

Fortnightly: 8 days on 6 days off, or 7 days on 7 days off.

Monthly: 14 days on 14 days off, etc.

Long Service Leave payments will be calculated at the weekly equivalent concurrent with the cycle performed:

e.g. a two week cycle earnings will be divided by two to equal a weekly rate of pay for your claim.

e.g. a four week cycle earnings will be divided by four to equal a weekly rate of pay for you claim.

The cycle payments are paid at ordinary rates inclusive of all applicable penalty rates and any applicable allowances.

In some cases the liability for your Long Service Leave may lie partly with LeavePlus and partly with your employer. There are two main categories for shared liabilities:

Partially covered trades – where a worker performs a trade that is not covered for 100% of their working time, so they have less than seven years’ service with LeavePlus, but have been with the same employer for over seven continuous years.

Promoted out of the scheme – where a worker has had a certain amount of service recorded with LeavePlus that is less than seven years, but they have been with the same employer for seven continuous years.

In both of these cases you can claim Long Service Leave, but you must claim it directly through your employer – LeavePlus can then reimburse the employer for the equivalent service entitlement paid out to you in your claim by your employer.

Employer Reimbursement Process

Where an employer may have paid the full liability to a worker when claiming long service leave directly from their employer (typically when the worker has been with the same employer for more than 7 years), then there may be a liability which is to be reimbursed to the employer by LeavePlus, dependent on the service accrued by the worker in question.

Employers can submit an Employer Reimbursement claim in the LeavePlus employer member portal.  Log in to LeavePlus and select My Claims from the main menu.  Choose the worker from the list who the reimbursement claim relates to, then enter all the required information.  The details you submit in your completed form enable LeavePlus to work out how much of the long service leave liability is to be reimbursed back to the employer.