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. 
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. :smack: 
Cool! Enjoy it!
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?
I got a gold tie pin.
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.
I got a rock.
You guys can get Yellow and Pink sparkling wines, which are some of my favorite wines, really cheap at Woolworth’s, too…
Yes, fully paid.
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.
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!
Very cool, I completed 10 years in Dec 07 and get another weeks annual leave. That’s it.
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!
And a box of chocolates has just arrived from HR too. A thoughtful touch.
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.
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.
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…
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.
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.
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
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!