Employees in the community services sector will now be able to move their long service leave entitlements between employers following the passing of legislation by the South Australian Government.
In South Australia workers are entitled to 13 weeks of long service leave after they have completed 10 years of continuous service with the same employer.
However, the government says in recent decades it has become more common for workers to move between different employers or be employed on a casual basis, meaning those workers miss out on the opportunity to access long service leave.
Community sector workers are overwhelmingly women, and many never get the chance to take long service leave despite decades of service because of the need to move between different employers during their careers.
The legislation means workers in the community services sector will have their long service leave entitlement based on their period of service in the industry, rather than their service with one employer.
The government says this will create an incentive for workers to retain their skills in the sector, reduce staff turnover, improve worker satisfaction, and minimise the cost to the business of recruiting and training replacement staff.
Portable long-service leave has already been legislated for community services in Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory, and New South Wales.
