Ten years at my job today, so now I get three months' long service leave

[Cunctator]

I started work at my current employer on 22 January 1998, so today is my tenth anniversary. Right on cue, in a nice start to the working day, an email arrives from HR telling me that I'm now entitled to three months' long service leave.

I shall be planning all sorts of interesting trips for the rest of the day.

[OneCentStamp]

Wow, I've never heard of an employer offering that. That's great. And this is paid leave? May I ask what industry you're in? I ask because in most of the ones I've worked in, ten years' service isn't that much. Is it a newer industry, or one with traditionally high turnover?

ETA: Never mind, I should have read your linked article first.

[GingerOfTheNorth]

Cool! Enjoy it!

[kittenblue]

I got a laptop bag for my ten-year service anniversary...though I could have opted for a pearl necklace or a watch. I found it interesting in that article that they said most people don't use their leave. Do you have to take it all at once, starting tomorrow, or do you get to spread it out over the year and take it when you feel like it?

[Leaffan]

I got a gold tie pin.

[Bites When Provoked]

Originally Posted by OneCentStamp

And this is paid leave? May I ask what industry you're in? I ask because in most of the ones I've worked in, ten years' service isn't that much. Is it a newer industry, or one with traditionally high turnover?

Standard employment conditions in .au.

So what are you lot still doing all the way over there? Come to Australia!

Sure, we have poisonous spiders and snakes, and no water... but boy are we serious about our public holidays and work holidays! 4 weeks of annual leave from day 1 of employment, and 2 to 3 months (depending on State and employer - the Wiki entry says it's 8 & 2/3 weeks, but my husband has 13 weeks with his employer) of Long Service Leave every 10 years.

[jjimm]

Originally Posted by Leaffan

I got a gold tie pin.

I got a rock.

[Anne Neville]

Originally Posted by Bites When Provoked

So what are you lot still doing all the way over there? Come to Australia!

Sure, we have poisonous spiders and snakes, and no water... but boy are we serious about our public holidays and work holidays! 4 weeks of annual leave from day 1 of employment, and 2 to 3 months (depending on State and employer - the Wiki entry says it's 8 & 2/3 weeks, but my husband has 13 weeks with his employer) of Long Service Leave every 10 years.

You guys can get Yellow and Pink sparkling wines, which are some of my favorite wines, really cheap at Woolworth's, too...

[Cunctator]

Originally Posted by OneCentStamp

Wow, I've never heard of an employer offering that. That's great. And this is paid leave?

Yes, fully paid.

Originally Posted by kittenblue

Do you have to take it all at once, starting tomorrow, or do you get to spread it out over the year and take it when you feel like it?

I can take it whenever I want, subject to operational requirements of course. I don't have to use it all at once. I can take it in blocks of as little as a week at a time. And my employer is quite flexible, so I can take twice as much time at half pay too, if I want. I'm thinking of using it two weeks at a time, at half pay, and thus getting a whole month off. Then I can do some nice overseas trips.

If I don't take it and resign from my job then the leave gets paid out in full.

[Dolores Reborn]

Wow!

I was impressed that when our new overloards bought my company, my 12 yr status (but only needed 10) earned four weeks of vacation, instead of three. The old system was 15 yrs for four weeks.

Congratulations!

[Lanzy]

Very cool, I completed 10 years in Dec 07 and get another weeks annual leave. That's it.

[freckafree]

That is AWESOME!

I'm going to suggest this to my employer. I work for a university, and I have long contended that staff need sabbaticals WAAAAY more than faculty do, but, of course, since all the administrators came up through the ranks of academia and the tenure process, my suggestions haven't gotten very far, needless to say.

Keep us updated on all the fun things you do and see, Cunctator!

[Cunctator]

And a box of chocolates has just arrived from HR too. A thoughtful touch.

[Richard Pearse]

Very cool Cunctator.

I finished seven years in November so am eligible for pro-rata long service leave if I leave the company or am terminated. I have to wait another three years to be able to take it while working though .

That wiki link isn't very accurate. Long service leave is normally thirteen weeks after ten years, I'm not sure where they get eight and two thirds weeks from.

Sometimes I think we get too much leave here, I've never come close to using all of it and currently have something like two and a half months owing to me.

[LurkMeister]

Gee, after working fifteen years with the federal government they increased the amount of paid leave I get per year to 26 days. And after 30 years I got a large plaque congratulating me on 30 years of government service.

With my name misspelled.

[Hal Briston]

Hmmm...

Ok, our company has a branch office in Sydney. As a matter of fact, I do quite a bit of phone support with some of our Aussie customers. I'm going to have to alert my superiors to this "long service leave" idea.


The fact that I currently have 9 years, 3 months under my belt is in no way a motive for this...no, not at all...

[SomeUserName]

Wow how cool for you.

I had 15 years in June. In December, there a little slow, I got a plaque and a cataloge to pick a prize. I selected a home entertainment system that has a DVD player and a tuner.

I wish we could get more vacation time though. We are capped at 4 weeks no matter how long you have worked there except for a slim few that were grandfathered in when the company was purchased and they already had more than 4 weeks.

We did have a six week sabatical program at one time as the company that bought us out had many employees from India. We were bought again though a few years later and the program was dropped. I know people that were let go because of the buy out that were eligible but had not used it yet got that 6 weeks of pay. I was not there long enough to be eligible anyway but it sounded good. You did have to take it all at one time though.

[don't ask]

Originally Posted by Bites When Provoked

4 weeks of annual leave from day 1 of employment, and 2 to 3 months (depending on State and employer - the Wiki entry says it's 8 & 2/3 weeks, but my husband has 13 weeks with his employer) of Long Service Leave every 10 years.

After the first 10 years I started accruing Long Service Leave at the rate of 2 weeks each year, so 20 weeks every 10 years after the first 10.

A few years ago I was offered a contracting job. The money seemed a lot better until I sat down and worked out my working conditions:

Say there are 260 working days a year less 10 public holidays, less 20 days rec leave, less 10 days long service leave less say 10 sick, family or community service leave days (I am entitled to many more - I could probably take over a year off sick if I needed to) leaving 210 days. I only work a 35 hour week so that is 1470 hours a year. Since I can take 1 day off every fortnight if I make up the hours I end up having to work only 186 8 hour days per year.

Pretty hard to swap that for the vagueries of contract work without being offered a lot more money.

[Triskadecamus]

I got a gift every five years.

A pin.

Another pin.

A coffee cup, and another pin.

A pen and pencil set.

A watch.

Each gift came with a free lunch. Of course, everyone got the free lunch.

It made me feel so special.

But, I did get an extra 24 hours a year Annual Leave along with the trinkets.

Tris

[Northern Piper]

Mrs. Piper and I are just finishing up a deferred salary leave. It's been great being out of the office for 6 months. Have fun with it, Cunctator!

[Missy2U]

Congratulations, Cunctator!!! That is very cool!

I will have ten years at my job on February 2 (although I did work here for a year as a contractor so TECHNICALLY I've been coming here day after freakin' day for ELEVEN years but that's neither here nor there) and should be receiving my catalog to pick out my present from shortly. A friend of mine who received his ten year gift selection catalog two years ago has already gone through the thing and googled all the merchandise so he can tell me what the most expensive thing is so I can pick that. So I've got that going for me anyway.

Anyway, enjoy your upcoming vacations!!

[Kalhoun]

I used to work for ROLM Corp. which had a sabbatical after 6 years. You could take 3 months at straight pay or 6 weeks with double pay. I took the latter. The beauty was that you were eligible again after another 6 years. I had a couple friends who got two before the company got sucked into IBM and Siemens. It was awesome listening to some of the fabulous trips people took. One girl and her husband took a hot air balloon ride over the champagne vinyards. Another guy did Australia and New Zealand.

I stayed home with a broken hand. Got the break 2 days after my sabbatical started and got the cast off 2 days before I went back to work. Sucked to be me.

[Least Original User Name Ever]

Aw. You lucky duck.

[Scribble]

So what are you thinking of doing with your 3-month vacation? What exciting trips are you planning?

[Duckster]

Originally Posted by LurkMeister

Gee, after working fifteen years with the federal government they increased the amount of paid leave I get per year to 26 days.

Add in the mandatory federal holidays and that adds up to 36 workings days every year, or basically two months off every year. Then there is that 13 days of sick leave that accumulates forever until you retire, unless you use some of it, and any unused sick leaves goes toward retirement earnings as well. I wouldn't complain.

In Oz, didn't it used to be long service leave after seven years? And you could bank it? When I lived there, I knew folks who banked two sets of LSL, banked their regular leave just so they could take a full year off -- with pay -- to travel the world.

[Cunctator]

Originally Posted by Scribble

So what are you thinking of doing with your 3-month vacation? What exciting trips are you planning?

Not sure yet. I've got two weeks' (normal) leave coming up in February, during which I'm going to New Zealand. So that should suffice for the moment. But a month's break or so later in the year would be nice. Destinations? Possibly South America, Canada, or Japan/Korea.

Originally Posted by Duckster

In Oz, didn't it used to be long service leave after seven years?

It depends on the circumstances (individual contract; state or Commonwealth award).

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

Originally Posted by Leaffan

I got a gold tie pin.

I got a nickel. (10 years pay. )

[Khadaji]

Pretty cool! Enjoy your time off.

[jsgoddess]

I took almost the whole of December off in 2007 and going back to work was a bear.

I can't even imagine taking off months and months then trying to go back to the same job. Routine keeps things bearable!

Still, congratulations and use your leave in brilliant ways!

[LavenderBlue]

You Aussies should immigrate here to America and convince our officials to honor your fabulous custom.

Please?

My mother had a sabbatical. She pronounced it sabbatico.

[Caught@Work]

Originally Posted by Bites When Provoked

the Wiki entry says it's 8 & 2/3 weeks, but my husband has 13 weeks with his employer) of Long Service Leave every 10 years.

In the government service it's (typically) 13 weeks per 10 years.

In the private sector it's (typically) 13 weeks per 15 years which is 4 and 1/3 accumulated every 5 years, pro-rated after 5 years if you leave.

I work my first job for 11 years, was retrenched, paid out 13 weeks.
I work my second job for 11 years, was retrenched, paid out 13 weeks.
I'm now in the private sector and only 3 years in, so I've got another 12 to go before I can actually take LSL.

A lot of places will also let you take LSL at half pay, so that would be a holiday of 6 months, plus any accumulated annual leave, plus nowadays some companies will let you buy up to an additional 4 weeks leave. So I could take 6 months, plus 4 weeks, plus 4 weeks bought leave for a total leave of 8 months. Woohoo!

[robinc308]

Congratulations Cunctator!

Long service leave varies by state. According to my employer (who only gives you the minimum entitlement they have to based on where you're employed), its:

NSW, Vic, Qld, WA & Tas:
Intial Qualifying period: 10 years
Intial Leave period: 8.66 weeks
Pro-rata: 5 years (if you leave or are terminated after 5 years you get it paid out in cash)
Subsequent qualifying period: 5 years
Subsequent leave period: 4.33 weeks

ACT:
Intial Qualifying period: 7 years
Intial Leave Period: 6.06 weeks
Pro-rata: 5 years
Subsequent qualifying period: 5 years
Subequent leave periot: 4.33 weeks

NT:
Intial Qualifying period: 10 years
Intial Leave Period: 13 weeks
Pro-rata: 7 years
Subsequent qualifying period: 5 years
Subequent leave periot: 6.5 weeks

SA:
Intial Qualifying period: 10 years
Intial Leave Period: 13 weeks
Pro-rata: 7 years
Subsequent qualifying period: 1 year
Subequent leave periot: 1.3 weeks

I think I'm moving to Adelaide .

I bring up my 7 years in 2 weeks, so 3 years, 2 weeks to go! (Given I'm currently sitting on 9 weeks accrued annual leave, with no plans to take any, if I hoard it all, I could disappear for 7 months fully paid in 2011!)

[Richard Pearse]

Originally Posted by robinc308

Congratulations Cunctator!

Long service leave varies by state. According to my employer (who only gives you the minimum entitlement they have to based on where you're employed)...

You may want to look into that. Our company pays the SA long service leave because they're an SA company, none of the foot soldiers actually live in SA (just middle and upper management types.)

[robinc308]

Originally Posted by 1920s Style "Death Ray"

You may want to look into that. Our company pays the SA long service leave because they're an SA company, none of the foot soldiers actually live in SA (just middle and upper management types.)

I work for an American company, and they don't choose to be generous, they pay the minimum they have to, no more. You get LSL entitlement based on where you reside. So I suppose I could reside in SA and commute to Melbourne

I haven't read the relevent acts of parliament (although my employer helpfully provides the relevant links, so I can only assume they have it right).

[Richard Pearse]

Originally Posted by robinc308

I haven't read the relevent acts of parliament (although my employer helpfully provides the relevant links, so I can only assume they have it right).

Yes they probably have it right. If you questioned it they may look deeper into it and find that they don't have to pay any LSL at all!