Claiming back long service leave payments

Long Service Leave entitlements for workers

Most Victorian workers qualify for traditional long service leave (LSL) if they have worked continuously with one employer for at least seven years. This applies to work that is:

• full time
• part time
• casual
• seasonal
• fixed term.

The Portable Long Service Benefits Scheme (the Scheme) operates in addition to traditional long service leave.

Portable long service means workers accrue long service benefits for all their years in a single industry, rather than with a single employer. Once workers have accrued seven years of service under the Scheme, they will be able to claim their entitlement directly from the Portable Long Service Authority (the Authority).

A worker may also have entitlements under the Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic), a fair work instrument, or their contract of employment. Fair work instruments include awards, enterprise agreements, workplace determinations, and Fair Work Commission orders. 

Where a worker has entitlements from the Authority and from other sources, the worker may choose to have their entitlement paid by their employer or the Authority.

What is a reimbursement claim?

Employers may apply to the Authority for a reimbursement of a long service leave payment made directly to a worker. 

The reimbursement will be for the service period recorded with the Authority.

Claiming reimbursement

Prior to submitting a claim for reimbursement, employers should check the workers' contribution report via the employer portal to ensure that the data provided in the quarterly returns for the worker is true and correct (Contact our Customer Service team on 1800 517 158(opens in a new window) if you have quarterly return queries).

Reimbursement claims will not be paid unless the quarterly return has been lodged and the levy paid for the period in which the accrued long service leave was taken by the worker. 

Reimbursement claims submitted for non-finalised quarterly return periods cannot be processed.

Submitting a reimbursement claim

Employers should make a claim using the online employer reimbursement form. This can be done by logging in to the employer portal and filling in the online employer reimbursement form under the ‘I Want To’ section.

Information on the form includes:

• worker name and PLSA identification number (the M number)
• the workers’ employment start date
• the hourly rate of pay at the time the leave was taken
• the workers’ personal email address (workers will be receiving notification that a claim has been processed as this reduces their entitlement)
• end of employment date OR 
• long service leave taken dates and number of hours claimed
• bank account details (the employers’ account number that the claim will be paid into). 

Workers must be registered with the Authority and their details (including recorded service) must be up to date. 

Employers will need to upload supporting documentation in PDF, including:

• final payslip showing hourly rate and unused LSL hours paid on end of employment (if applicable)
• payslips or payroll report showing hourly rate and the total of LSL hours to support current claim (LSL taken claims)
• bank verification document showing the organisation’s nominated account name, BSB and account details (i.e. copy of deposit slip or bank statement header).

If long service leave is taken over a period of time and paid at different pay rates, employers must provide appropriate documentation showing different pay rates.

Claims without complete supporting documents attached cannot be processed.

Bulk reimbursements

Where an employer has a large number of claims (more than eight) to submit at one time, they should contact the Claims team(opens in a new window) to request a bulk reimbursement claim form. The same information and supporting documents must be included with a bulk reimbursement claim submission.

Processing time

The Authority endeavours to pay out claims for reimbursement within six weeks of submission provided there are no queries with the data provided in the claim and all required supporting documents are received.

Basis of calculation

The hours the Authority will reimburse are capped at the total hours reported in the quarterly returns submitted.

Reimbursements will not include superannuation, payroll tax or other human resources on costs.

A simple basis of calculation is LSL hours eligible to be claimed multiplied by the hourly rate at the time the leave was taken, or end of employment occurred. 

Further information

If you have any further questions about the employer reimbursement process, please contact the Authority on 1800 517 158(opens in a new window) or email claims@plsa.vic.gov.au(opens in a new window).