LONG SERVICE LEAVE

The long service leave provisions for hospital employees are set out in the relevant Awards, the Long Service Leave Act 1955, as amended, and the Transferred Officers Extended Leave Act 1961, as amended.

In the case of employees not covered by an Award, Agreement or Determination, hospitals should ascertain from the Commission the terms and conditions of long service leave which will apply.

The long service leave provisions for all hospital employees were altered substantially in the early 1970's. The exact date at which they were changed varies from Award to Award. The relevant dates are as follows:

Hospital Secretaries (State) Award	27 September 1972
Public Hospitals (Medical Superintendents) Award	26 May 1973
Medical Officers - Hospital Specialists Award	22 August 1972
Public Hospitals (Resident Medical Officer) Award	1 July 1974
Public Hospitals Nurses' (State) Award	12 March 1975

and for all other Awards directly related to employment in public hospitals the date is 1 January 1973.

The rights of employees employed at the date at which the provisions came into operation have been preserved; therefore, when such employees apply for long service leave, the hospital must ascertain which set of provisions is more favourable to them in the particular circumstances and pay their long service leave accordingly.

Particular aspects of eligibility are discussed under these headings:

• THE NEW PROVISIONS

• THE OLD PROVISIONS

• SERVICE AS AN ADULT

• CONTINUOUS SERVICE

• CALCULATING THE PERIOD OF SERVICE

THE NEW PROVISIONS (GENERALLY)

Under the new long service leave provisions employees are eligible for 2 months long service leave after ten years' service and then 5 months long service leave for each 10 years' service thereafter. However, employees who have completed at least five years' service as a adult (refer sub-section "Service as an Adult" [Page 3.3]) and whose services are terminated by the employer for any reason other than serious and wilful misconduct, or who resign their employment on account of illness, incapacity or domestic or other pressing necessity, is entitled to a pro-rata payment for long service leave on the basis of two months leave for ten years' service.

Under the new provisions, some part-time service may not be regarded as "service" in respect of the long service leave entitlements provided in the Award. Therefore, staff employed on a part-time basis in public hospitals may not be eligible for the same long service leave entitlements as a re full-time employees. The Award which deals with part-time employees makes provision for their long service leave entitlements to be regulated by the Long Service Leave Act, 1955 in certain circumstances, as amended (refer sub-section "Assessment of Individual Entitlement" [Page 3.9]).

THE OLD PROVISIONS

Employees who are employed under an Award current at the date on which the new provisions took effect are entitled to long service leave as prescribed by the old provisions if this is more favourable to them.

The old long service leave provisions tend to vary from Award to Award and it is therefore difficult to summarise the main points. An example of the lack of uniformity in the old provisions involves the period of service required before the employee is entitled to take long service leave. The old Nurses' Award required the employee to serve for ten years, while the old Hospital Employee's Award required the employee to serve for fifteen years, before taking long service leave. For this reason, reprints of the old long service leave provisions of each relevant Award have been attached (refer Appendix B [Page 3.24]).

SERVICE AS AN ADULT

The Commission has determined that, for the purposes of long service leave, "service as an adult" means service on and from the date of the employee's eighteenth birthday. Any service with the employer before the employee has turned eighteen counts towards long service leave only after the employee has served for the minimum of five years "as an adult".

Hence, employees who begin their employment on the date of their sixteenth birthday would necessarily serve for two years before becoming an "adult", as defined. These employees would not be entitled to any payment for long service leave on termination until the date of their twenty-third birthday. At this time, if their services were terminated for reasons other than serious and wilful misconduct etc., employees would be entitled to a pro-rata payment for long service leave, based on their seven years' service.

CONTINUOUS SERVICE

"Service" for the purpose of long service leave need not be continuous, as the new Award provisions allow periods of full-time broken service to be counted towards the employee's long service leave entitlement.

On the other hand, employees claiming long service leave under the old provisions are not entitled to count periods of broken service unless they were employed under the old Nurses' Award, or the old Resident Medical Officers' Award. Only these two Awards, in force until 12 March 1975 and 1 July 1974 respectively, allow employees to count aggregate, rather than continuous, service; however, it should be noted that for nursing staff part-time service prior to 1 January 1970 is not to be included in the aggregation. For all other employees, the fact that broken periods may not be counted under the old provisions may mean that the new provisions are more favourable.

CALCULATING THE PERIOD OF SERVICE

Only service in public hospitals included in the Public Hospitals Act 1929, and declared authorities under the Transferred Officers' Extended Leave Act 1961, as amended, counts for the purpose of long service leave for hospital employees.

Employees covered by the Nurses' Award are able to count previous service in private hospitals towards their long service leave entitlement, only where such hospitals have subsequently been included in the Public Hospitals Act and that the employee was employed in the private hospital at the date it became a public hospital. This service is counted as the rate of 75% of the actual time served.

All service in declared authorities under the Transferred Officers Extended Leave Act, other than public hospitals, must be continuous, subject to breaks of service allowed by the Act (refer sub-section "Transferability of Long Service Leave " [Page 3.14]). Periods of full time broken service in public hospitals may be counted towards the employee's long service leave entitlement.

Pro-rata annual leave paid on termination only counts as service if paid before 1 September 1970. After that date, the "last day of service", for the purpose of calculating long service leave due, is the day on which the employee actually ceased duties with the hospital.

Leave without pay in excess of six months duration does not count as service for the accrual of long service leave. (93/94)

Leave without pay of less than six months duration:

(a) For an employee with up to ten years service does not count as service for the accrual of long service leave.

(b) For an employee who has a net service of ten years (i.e. any period of leave without pay excluded therefrom). Periods of leave without pay (not exceeding six months) are included when calculating service for the accrual of long service leave.

Special Note: Periods of leave without pay less than six months granted before 12 March 1975 (for employees covered by the Nurses' Award), 1 July 1975 (for employees covered by the Medical Officers' Award) and 1 January 1973 (for all other employees) may be counted for service. (93/34)

In determining total service for computation of leave due, years, months and days are counted. Where an employee has had service with two or more hospitals, days are to be aggregated to determine total service in the industry. In such cases 30 days will constitute one month.

EXTENT OF ENTITLEMENT

When looking at the long service provisions for public hospital employees it is important to study both the old and new provisions. This is because staff employed at the time of the introduction of the new provisions could have an entitlement to long service leave as prescribed by the old provisions if this is more favourable to them. In this case, those most likely to be eligible for long service leave under the old scheme are employees who have worked in hospitals located in one or other of the climatic zones, described in the relevant Award (refer Appendix C [Page 3.33]). As it is necessary for Hospital Administrators, and indeed hospital employees, to be familiar with the precise leave entitlement of staff, copies of the old long service leave Award clauses are included (refer Appendix B [Page 3.24]).

Basically, the new leave entitlements provide for two months' long service leave after ten years service, with an additional five months' long service leave for each ten years service thereafter. Employees completing more than five years' "Service as an Adult" (refer Page 3.3) but less than ten years' service are eligible for a pro-rata payment on termination under certain conditions (refer sub-section "Eligibility" Heading New Provisions [Page 3.2]).

NB It is important to understand that an employee's entitlement to long service leave comes from either the old or the new provisions, not a combination of the more attractive elements of each. For example, when calculating the employee's length of service and corresponding leave entitlement, the computation of service at time-and-a-half or double time, available under the old provisions, must not be coupled with the greater quantum of leave available under the new provisions.

PART-TIME SERVICE

Certain Hospital Awards do not recognise part-time employment as "service" for long service leave purposes while other Awards do recognise part-time service (e.g. the Hospital Employees Conditions of Employment (State) Award and the Public Hospital Nurses' (State) Award), subject to certain conditions.

Hence, the need to study the terms of each Award carefully when calculating long service leave entitlements is obvious.

The long service leave entitlements of part-time employees are discussed under the following headings:

• THE NEW PROVISIONS

• THE OLD PROVISIONS

• FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES WITH PART-TIME SERVICE

EXTENDED LEAVE ENTITLEMENTS (94/29)

The purpose of this Circular is to clarify aspects relating to long service leave entitlements. This advice applies to employees actually employed in the Public Health System as at 29 March 1994.

PART 1 - PREVIOUS PART-TIME SERVICE

There is no express or implied requirement that for previous service to be recognised it must have been performed in a full time capacity immediately prior to the employee's transfer.

Accordingly, subject to:

a. Part 2 below; and

b. Meeting the necessary requirements expressed in the Transferred Officers Extended Leave Act 1961;

an employee is entitled to have previous part-time service recognised for the purposes of the Act.

For example, if a person had 4 years full time service followed by 3 years part-time service with the Department of Sport, Recreation and Racing and was then employed in a position at a Hospital or elsewhere in the Public Health System such as a Public Health Unit the previous service with the Department of Sport, Recreation and Racing must be recognised provided it complies with other necessary Award (including enterprise agreements), and Act requirements.

This advice applies equally to full-time and part-time staff with one exception as detailed in Part 2. It should be read in conjunction with Circular 93/90, Public Sector Staff Mobility.

PART 2 - PART-TIME SERVICE OF LESS THAN 2 DAYS PER WEEK

The provisions outlined in Part 1 do not apply where an employee's previous part-time service immediately before commencement in the position was less than 2 days.

The case of Kennedy v. Board of Fire Commissioners [1967] AR 455 is authority for the proposition that where there are long service leave provisions of an Act and an Award or by implication an Agreement, the more favourable conditions are to apply to the employee on the basis that the proper method of comparison is to examine each set of provisions as a whole weighing the various pros and cons and arriving at a final overall balance.

In other words it is not open for an employee, subject to Part 3, to choose the most advantageous conditions on a comparison of individual provisions. The choice must be made having regard to the whole instrument.

In light of the fact that the individual Awards and Agreements are generally more favourable than the Act on extended leave matters, the relevant Award or Agreement is the instrument which must be applied when interpreting extended leave entitlements.

Therefore as the Public Hospital Nurses (State) Award [Clause 29(ix)], the Hospital Employees Conditions of Employment (State) Award [Clause 16(vi)], the Public Hospitals (Professional and Associated Staff) Conditions of Employment (State) Award [Clause 14(vi)] require a person to work a minimum of two days per week part-time, this requirement must be satisfied before this service can be recognised for extended leave purposes in accordance with Part 1.

PART 3 - PERMANENT PART-TIME EMPLOYEES WHO WORK LESS THAN 2 DAYS PER WEEK

Part 2 does not apply to permanent part-time employees who work less than 2 days per week. Those employees are entitled to all extended leave benefits in the same proportion as their ordinary hours of work bear to full-time hours.

Accordingly the provisions of Part 1 should apply to permanent part-time employees on a pro rata basis.

Further enquiries should be directed to Industrial Relations Branch, Department of Health, telephone number 9391-9353.

THE NEW PROVISIONS

Part-time employees who are eligible for long service leave, and who were employed at the date of changeover to the new provisions, are entitled to long service leave in line with either the old or new provisions, whichever are the more favourable to them. Staff employed after the date of changeover derive their entitlement to long service leave solely from the new provisions. Under the new provisions, the long service leave entitlements of part-time employees are regulated by the terms of the Long Service Leave Act 1955, as amended. The provisions of this Act differ in many ways from the old long service leave provisions applying to part-time employees (refer sub-section "Part-Time Service" Heading - Old Provisions [page 3.7]) and the new long service leave provisions applying to full-time employees. Hospitals should therefore obtain a copy of the Long Service Leave Act and should examine it carefully when calculating long service leave for part-time employees.

ELIGIBILITY

The Act states that employees are entitled to long service leave after they have completed ten years' continuous service. The Act provides, however, that after five calendar years' service as an adult an employee who is dismissed for any reason other than serious and wilful misconduct, or who leaves the employer's service on account of illness, incapacity or domestic or other pressing necessity, is entitled to a pro-rata payment for long service leave accrued.

The Commission has determined that the term "service as an adult" means service on and from the date of the employee's eighteenth birthday (refer sub-section "Eligibility" Heading Service as an Adult [Page 3.3]).

An important point to note is that part-time staff are ineligible to count any periods of broken service towards their long service leave entitlement or to transfer their entitlement from one hospital to another. They are specifically excluded from this by the terms of their Awards and by the Long Service Leave Act. The Act states that in order to be eligible for long service leave, the employee must maintain a continuous contract of employment with the one employment for the appropriate period. While the services of employees must be 'continuous' in order to become eligible for long service leave, Section 4(11) of the Act lists a number of circumstances which will not constitute a break in continuity of service. These include changes in the method of employment, i.e. from full-time to part-time or casual employment, absences on workers' compensation or on account of illness or injury, interruptions in service made by the employer with the intention of avoiding an employee's rights to long service leave, periods of absence for any reasons by leave of the employer, absences caused by industrial disputes or by retrenchment due to slackness in trade, or any other absence caused by the employer where the employee returns within two months.

However, eligibility for part-time employees to long service leave still requires them to be employed continuously in one hospital for the appropriate period - the absolute minimum being five years.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

Employees deriving their long service leave entitlements according to the Act have any period of long service leave extended by one day for each public holiday occurring in the period on such leave. The public holidays to be taken into account in this respect are only those public holidays which are observed generally throughout New South Wales.

Employees within the NSW public health system obtain their entitlements to long service leave from either the relevant award or the Long Service Leave Act. Public Hospital Awards have no provision for long service leave to be extended due to public holidays occurring during a period of such leave.

The Long Service Leave Act only applies to part-time employees who are in receipt of a part-time loading. The Long Service Leave Act, Section 4 (4A) provides for the period of the long service leave to be increased by one day in respect of that public holiday, i.e. for a public holiday that occurs DURING any period of leave. If long service leave is payable on termination the leave is not extended by any public holiday which occurs during the period of leave paid on termination.

Trade Union (picnic) Days are not counted as public holidays.

ENTITLEMENT

The amount of leave accrued under the Act is 4½ days per year for service to 31 March 1963 and 6 days per year for service after 1 April 1963.

These rates of accrual apply irrespective of the number of hours worked each year by part-time hospital employees.

The Act was amended in 1963 and the actual rates of accrual were increased. To determine the entitlement of an employee whose service began before 1 April 1963, two calculations are necessary; one assessing the amount of leave accrued for service prior to 1 April of that year and one assessing the amount accrued for service after that date.

In calculations for an employee's long service leave entitlement under the Act the entitlement will be measured in terms of working weeks' leave. To determine the monetary value of the leave, multiply the weeks' leave figure by the employee's ordinary weekly rate of pay.

Calculations are to be on a seven day basis.

The "ordinary rate of pay" is the rate received by the employee immediately before going on leave. The "ordinary rate of pay" for part-time employees who work an irregular number of hours should be determined by calculating the average number of hours worked each week over the past twelve months and multiplying this average by the hourly rate of pay current in the week before the employee commences leave. It should be remembered that for part-time employees the term "ordinary rate of pay" includes the normal 15% part-time loading but does not include any penalty rates usually earned.

THE OLD PROVISIONS

Part-time employees or employees employed in a public hospital situated in a climatic zone at the changeover dates are entitled to long service leave in accordance with either the old or the new provisions, whichever are the more favourable to them. The old long service provisions vary from Award to Award and therefore the old clauses should be read carefully (refer Appendix B [Page 3.24]).

NB Under the Old long service leave provisions of the Public Hospital Nurses' State Award, only part-time service after 1/1/1970 can be recognised for long service leave.

Although the old formulae for calculating part-time long service leave differ for each Award, the basic steps os the calculation are:-

• convert the period of part-time service to a proportion of full-time service;

• calculate the long service leave entitlement in the manner prescribed under the old provisions for full-time employees (refer Appendix D page 3.34);

• calculate payment for the entitlement at the full-time rate of pay excluding 15% part-time loading.

The following example demonstrates these steps:

Period of Service	6 May 1969 to 31 May 1974 = 5 years, 0 months, 26 days
Hours Worked	24 hours per week
Equivalent full-time Service	= 25 x (5 years, 0 months, 26 days) 40 = 3 years, 15 days = 36 months full-time service
Amount of Long Service Leave Due	= 18 days' leave = 2 4/7 weeks' leave
Monetary Value of Leave: $ X	Leave is calculated at the full-time rate of pay, and therefore does not include part-time loadings etc.

Two aspects of the calculation should be noted:

• the odd days of part-time service are counted for calculating the equivalent full-time service. Any odd days (days left over after the years and months of service have been calculated) of the equivalent full-time service are then disregarded;

• to express a number of days' leave in terms of weeks, the number of days is divided by seven, not by five. This is because all long service leave calculations are based on "calendar" rather than "working" weeks and months.

FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES WITH PART-TIME SERVICE

Full-time employees with previous part-time service in public hospitals may count the part-time service, on a proportionate basis, towards their current long service leave entitlement, provided their full-time employment began without a break after their part-time service was terminated and the part-time service was more than 2 full days per week.

For example, an employee may have worked two days each week for eighteen months and then transferred to full-time employment, completing eight and half years' full-time service. The employee would be entitled, under the new provisions, to two months' long service leave after ten years' service, but the payment for such leave would be less than the full-time rate by virtue of the proportionate reduction for part-time service.

ASSESSMENT OF INDIVIDUAL ENTITLEMENT

On 1 July 1974 hospitals were given the responsibility for the approval of long service leave claims. It is therefore each hospital's responsibility to certify employees terms of service, accurately assess their entitlement, maintain adequate records of their application and its assessment, calculate correctly the monetary value of the employee's entitlement and make the necessary payment. Long service leave records maintained at the hospital (refer Heading "Records" [Page 3.12]) are subject to check by Departmental officers during routine inspection visits. Each hospital has the responsibility to make an assessment of an employee's entitlement to long service leave at the time of the employee's resignation or termination. If employees have an entitlement they are to be paid for long service leave, subject to transferring to another New South Wales declared authority in terms of the Transferred Officers Extended Leave Act or a public hospital in New South Wales (refer heading "Transferred Officers Extended Leave Act" [Page 3.14]).

When assessing the individual long service leave entitlements of their employees, hospitals must pay careful attention to the following:

• Applications

• Assessment and calculation of entitlement

• Records

APPLICATIONS

Whether continuing in the hospital's service or terminating, each employee applying for long service leave must submit a claim form. Nurses should use form A49 when making their application and all other employees must use form A50. Sample pro forma applications forms are shown at Appendix G and Appendix H to this section. These forms should be printed locally as they are not stocked at the Government Supply Office.

Each application should be carefully checked, paying particular attention to the following aspects of the claim:

• the employee's date of birth.

• the details of any previous service undertaken by the employee.

• the details of any previous long service leave taken or paid to the employee on termination.

• the employee's date of birth is important for establishing the employee's period of adult service.

• the details of any previous service of the employee must be checked very carefully. Initially, the actual dates of any previous periods of employment should be confirmed. Where the service is of a relatively recent period, records of the service should be available from the hospitals concerned in the form of pay and leave records, or group certificates. In the case of nursing staff, the two service record books should be enough. Care must be taken that periods of service do not overlap.

• any periods of leave without pay.

• the employee submitting the long service leave claim form must certify the accuracy of the details on the claim form.

Statutory declarations should only be accepted as a verification of former service when every other avenue of confirmation of the period of service has been thoroughly investigated. Every attempt to confirm a period of service shown on a statutory declaration should be made before leave is granted.

Where employees have transferred to the hospital from another authority under the Transferred Officers Extended Leave Act, they must present documentary evidence of their previous service, showing the period of service, including their last day of actual service, any leave without pay, and any period of long service leave previously taken. This document must be verified by the previous employer. An unconfirmed statement as to previous service is not acceptable.

The details of any previous long service leave taken by the employee must also be confirmed. Inquiries in this respect should be directed to any previous employers claimed by the applicant. The officer preparing the form is responsible for certifying that the necessary checks relating to previous service and payments have been carried out.

ASSESSMENT AND CALCULATION

Care and accuracy are most important factors in the calculation of an employee's long service leave entitlement. The claim must be checked thoroughly before payment is actually made and the responsibility for checking the claim should rest with a senior officer. When the period of service has been verified, the leave entitlement is to be calculated in accordance with the tables set out in Appendices A, C and D of this section.

In hospitals of less than 80 ADA claims for payment to Chief Executive Officers must be submitted to the Regional Director for checking and approval of entitlements prior to authorisation for payment.

Under the new provisions, employees with less than ten years' service are permitted to count only whole months and not any odd days of service towards their long service leave entitlement. Where the employee has had service in more than one hospital, however, the odd days of service in each hospital are taken into account by adding them together and determining how many additional whole months of service they represent. Any days left over after this calculation are then disregarded. For employees claiming long service leave under the old provisions, service is calculated in the same manner.

After ten years' service, the new provisions allow for the actual odd days of service to be counted towards the employee's long service leave entitlement (refer Appendix A [Page 3.19]).

When the amount of leave due is calculated, it will be expressed in numbers of months' and days' leave. This entitlement must then be converted to a calendar period of leave and the appropriate payment calculated. There is a special method of doing this and in order to understand it, let us look at the following example:

An employee in receipt of a weekly salary of $100 terminated employment on 5 September, after 12 years' 4 months', 25 days' service. Calculations reveal that the employee is entitled to three months' six days' long service leave.

As 5 September was the employee's last day of duty, the leave must be calculated from 6 September (i.e. the day following the last day of duty). The leave period of three months and six days is then calculated in this way:

3 months	Month 1: 6 September to 5 October = 30 days
	Month 2: 6 October to 5 November = 31 days
	Month 3: 6 November to 5 December = 30 days
	additional days: 6 December to 11 December = 6 days

Therefore, the employee's entitlement to long service leave is 97 days.

Payment for the leave is then calculated by the following formula:

No. of days' leave x weekly rate of pay = $X

thus 97 x $100 = $1385.71

7

It is important to remember, when calculating the payment for this period, that months are counted as calendar months and weeks have seven days, not five as in the working week. Hence a month's leave may be anything from 28 to 31 days, and odd days of leave are paid at one-seventh of the weekly rate of pay.

RECORDS

Due to the fact that hospitals now have the responsibility of assessing claims for long service leave, they also have the responsibility of maintaining the many varied and detailed records required. Four different forms of records are involved; these are -

• the original claims forms;

• the employee's service record books and/or service record cards;

• the bound register, and

• the schedule of long service leave claims which have been granted;

• the original claims forms are to be held by the hospital;

• service record cards for non-nursing staff have been designed in similar format as the nurses' service record books. These records are to show the quantum of leave due and/or granted and the amount paid. As with the Brown Books for nurses, each hospital will forward the service record card of an employee on to the next employing public hospital upon receipt of a request in writing from the new employer. The leave records of employees who terminate their services and are paid all long service leave due must be retained by the hospital in case the person concerned re-enters public hospital service in New South Wales.

• a bound register recording long service leave claims, calculations and payments must be maintained by the hospital. The register will provide an accountable and ready record of the information contained in the service record books and cards. The register is made necessary because of the movement of service record cards etc. between hospitals and because hospitals are obliged to seek details of both an employee's previous service with other hospitals and any long service leave previously taken;

• a schedule claiming a recoup for the total amount of claims paid during the month is to be prepared, in duplicate, at the end of each month. It is to be identified by the calendar month to which it relates.

One copy of the schedule should be retained by the hospital and the other copy must be sent to the Regional Office. During inspections, Commission Inspectors will verify the claims for recoupment contained in the long service leave register.

Hospitals on cash recoup should forward their monthly schedules of long service leave at the same time as they send in their ordinary General Fund recoup claims. Other hospitals should submit their schedules with an application for a special grant in order to recoup their payment of claims.

The schedule is to include the following information in respect of each application paid:

• Surname of the employee;

• Given names;

• Maiden name (in the case of a married woman);

• Date of birth;

• Date on which first hospital employment commenced;

• Dates of periods of long service leave granted and/or for which payment has been made;

• Dates and period of leave currently granted, and/or for which payment has been made;

• Monetary value of leave currently granted, and/or for which payment has been made;

• The employee's Award classification.

TRANSFERABILITY OF LONG SERVICE LEAVE

When employees terminate their services they are entitled (subject to certain conditions) to be paid all long service leave due to them and such payment should be made. However, if the employees transfer these services to another New South Wales Government or New South Wales semi-Government employer, they can be entitled to have their long service entitlement likewise transferred to their new employer if they desire. Such transferral of long service leave is regulated by the Transferred Officers Extended Leave Act, the relevant Awards and certain Commission Determinations. This can be discussed under the following headings.

• The Transferred Officers Extended Leave Act

Under the Transferred Officers Extended Leave Act 1961, as amended, employees of gazetted NSW State Government departments and authorities (refer Appendix E [Page 3.36]) who transfer from one such department to another are able to transfer their long service leave entitlement to their new employer, subject to the transfer meeting certain conditions set out in the Act.

These conditions may be summarised as follows:

• Employees must commence duty with the new employer on the next working day after termination, or be accepted for employment with the new employer prior to their last day of service with their previous employer, in which case they must commence service with the new employer within two months of termination of their previous employment. Proof of this must be in the form of documentary evidence; a mere statement by the employee is not regarded as being sufficient evidence.

Employees wishes to transfer their long service leave entitlement should obtain a statement from their previous employer, indicating:

• the employee's date of commencement and date of termination of employment.

• details of any long service leave taken during employment or paid on termination.

• details of any leave granted, such as leave without pay, which cannot be counted as service for long service leave purposes.

• the reason for termination of employment.

Liability for the employee's long service leave must be accepted by the Authority to which the employee transfers. Public hospitals are therefore obliged to accept liability for the long service leave entitlements of officers who transfer from other declared NSW State Authorities to a public hospital, in accordance with the Act.

DECLARATION OF AREA HEALTH SERVICES AS A GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE TRANSFERRED OFFICERS EXTENDED LEAVE ACT (91/78)

The Public Employment Industrial Relations Authority has advised that His Excellency the Governor, with the advice of the Executive Council and pursuant to the provisions of the Transferred Officers Extended Leave Act 1961 has approved the declaration of Area Health Services as a Governmental Authority for the purposes of the Act.

This covers all employees in public hospitals in all 10 Area Health Services in addition to covering those employees actually employed by the Area Health Service themselves.

This proclamation appeared in Government Gazette No. 106 of 12 July 1991 and a copy of the extract follows as Appendix E(a).

• Public Hospital Employees

The conditions regulating the transfer of long service leave for public hospital employees are slightly different from those applying to other employees. This is because the terms of the public hospital Awards are, in many cases, more generous than the terms of the Long Service Leave Act; where this is the case, the terms of the Awards over-ride the Act. An example of this is the counting of periods of broken service for public hospital employees. This allows employees of a public hospital, on transferring to another hospital, to transfer their full long service leave entitlement without commencing duty with their new employer on the next working day.

When attempting to establish the employee's previous service the employing authority need only go as far back as the employee's most recent previous employer as long as it was a public hospital. This is because all previous service which had been recognised by the employing authority from which the employee is transferring must also be recognised by the employing authority to which the employee transfers. For example, an employee may have worked in a State Public Service Department, transferred to a Commonwealth Public Service Department and subsequently transferred to a public hospital. Provided the last transfer, in this case from the Commonwealth Department to the public hospital, satisfies the provisions of the Transferred Officers' Extended Leave Act the question then is what periods of service the Commonwealth Department would have taken into account for long service leave purposes. If the latter Department would not recognise the prior State Department service, then the public hospital also would not be allowed to recognise such service.

It must be remembered that because broken full-time service in public hospitals is counted as service under the relevant Awards, employing hospitals are obliged to recognise such service while other Authorities under the Act are not so obliged. However, as indicated by the previous example, once a hospital counts employees' periods of broken service toward their long service leave entitlement and the employees transfer to another Authority under the Act, that Authority must count the broken service, provided the employees' transfer was in accordance with the conditions of the Transferred Officers' Extended Leave Act.

• Employees of "Schedule B" Hospitals

In the past certain hospitals, referred to here as "Schedule B" hospitals (refer Appendix F [Page 3.52]) have been excluded from the terms of the Transferred Officers' Extended Leave Act. In 1970, the former Hospitals' Commission decreed that these "Schedule B" hospitals were to be recognised as State Authorities by all public hospitals. This meant that employees of "Schedule B" hospitals could transfer long service leave entitlements to public hospitals if they desired, and, vice versa, public hospital employees transferring to "Schedule B" hospitals could have their long service leave transferred.

Any employees of "Schedule B" hospitals wishing to transfer their long service leave entitlements when they transfer to a public hospital are required to obtain statements, in the forms outlined in (sub-section "Transferability of Long Service Leave" [Page 3.14]) from each of their previous employers.

BROKEN SERVICE

Under the new long service leave provisions of the relevant Awards, periods of full-time broken service may be counted towards the employee's long service leave entitlement. The old provisions of most of the relevant Awards, however, do not permit periods of broken service to be counted towards the employee's long service leave entitlement. Only the Nurses' Award, prior to 12 March 1975 and the Resident Medical Officers' Award, prior to 1 July 1974, permitted the employees' period of aggregate rather than continuous service to be counted for long service leave purposes.

The provisions of the Transferred Officers' Extended Leave Act allow employees to transfer their long service leave entitlement only where they can prove that their service has been continuous. Under the Act, broken periods of service may not be counted as "service" for the purpose of long service leave (refer sub-section "Transferability of Long Service Leave [Page 3.14]).

Part-time employees may not count periods of broken service towards their long service leave entitlements (refer sub-section "Part-Time Service" [Page 3.5]).

RECREDITING LONG SERVICE LEAVE

Employees who are incapacitated for a period of at least one week while on long service leave may apply to have the period of incapacity recredited to their long service leave entitlement and debited against their balance of sick leave.

Employees who take long service leave immediately prior to retirement, resignation or termination are not eligible for a recredit of leave on account of illness. Other employees must support their application with a medical certificate stating the period of incapacity. If the employee's credit of sick leave is not sufficient to cover the extent of the recredit claimed, then the employees are not entitled to have their entire period of incapacity recredited; their entitlement is limited to their actual credit of sick leave available.

Each application for a recredit of leave should be considered by the Board in the light of the circumstances and the nature of the incapacity. The Board may approve or reject the application at its discretion.

APPORTIONMENT OF LONG SERVICE LEAVE ON TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT

The Taxation Office has advised that it has no objection to employees charging long service leave taken, against their entitlements in other than the order in which the entitlements accrued. That is long service leave accrued before 15 August 1978 may be retained until some future date and long service leave taken, offset in the first place against leave accrued after 15 August 1978.

The full text of the Australian Taxation Office's advice is reproduced.

MINIMUM PERIODS OF LONG SERVICE LEAVE

There is no legislative or Award restriction governing minimum periods of Long Service Leave. Notwithstanding the need to maintain appropriate staffing levels, hospitals/area health services should attempt to introduce some flexibility into the system.

Provided that an employee has accrued an entitlement to Long Service Leave, then where an employee and employer agree, a period of seven days Long Service Leave may be taken by an employee.

Whilst the taking of Long Service Leave is by mutual agreement between an employee and their employer, where an employee has accrued the appropriate entitlement the employer should ensure that there are no unnecessary constraints on that leave being taken at a particular time.

PUBLIC HOSPITAL NURSES (STATE) AWARD LONG SERVICE LEAVE ENTITLEMENTS PERMANENT PART-TIME EMPLOYEES

The then Health Commission on 28 June 1974 issued Circular 74/5 which conveyed the authority to public hospitals to approve and pay long service leave.

Paragraph 10.9 of that Circular gave instructions inter alia how to treat the long service leave entitlement of employees who have a combination full time and part time service. That paragraph said:

"Under each award, once an employee has served for a period of ten years, whether full time, part time or a combination of both, he or she is entitled to long service leave. For example, an employee may have completed 8 years, 6 months full time service and 1 year, 6 months part time service. In this case the employee would be entitled to two months long service leave but the payment for such leave would be less than the full time rate by virtue of the proportionate reduction for the part time service."

This paragraph is to apply to Permanent Part Time under the Public Hospital Nurses (State) Award. Therefore when a Permanent Part Time employee has had previous full time service, that employee is entitled to the greater quantum of long service leave and is to be entitled to the period of leave but of course paid at the lesser equivalent full time rate.

For example:

10 years full time service

+ 5 years at half time (Permanent Part Time)

= 15 years total service

that is 4 months 15 days long service leave entitlement.

This long service leave is to be paid for on the basis of equivalent full time service - i.e. 12 years 6 months service resulting in a payment for 3 months 7½ days at the full time rate, and the leave balance is to be reduced by 4 months 15 days.

The example given above is only applicable to Permanent Part Time nurses, that is those part time employees who are not in receipt of the 10 per cent part time allowance.

Those part time employees who are in receipt of the part time allowance by reason of the fact that they were employed prior to 30 June 1986 and not made the election to be Permanent Part Time, gain an entitlement to long service leave from the Long Service Leave Act and not the Public Hospital Nurses (State) Award.

PUBLIC HOSPITAL NURSES (STATE) AWARD LONG SERVICE LEAVE

The long service leave clause in the Public Hospital Nurses (State) Award was varied to provide the "new" standard of long service. That variation was effective from 12 March 1975.

One of the most significant changes to that clause was to remove the accelerated accrual of service for long service leave for those employees who worked in hospitals in the Climatic Zones. There were of course savings provision for the employees of those hospitals who were employed as at 12 March 1975, in order to protect their rights to long service leave.

It has come to the Corporation's attention that some employees who resigned after that date and some time later were employed in a public hospital thereby accruing long service leave under the new provisions only, have been disadvantaged in respect of their long service leave entitlements. This occurred by reason that all service was counted at single time only, however, the entitlement for long service leave had to be reduced by the long service leave previously paid. This on many occasions put employees into a deficit of long service leave entitlement.

In order to rectify this anomaly the Corporation is prepared to approve of those employees who were employed in a public hospital as at 12 March 1975, and who had or were having service accrued at either time and one half or double time, being allowed to retain the option of having long service leave entitlements accrue under the old award provisions, that is those provisions in force prior to 12 March 1975. This is to apply even though there has been a break in the continuity of service.

Consequently those employees who would benefit from that option of accruing long service leave utilising the climatic zone service will accrue long service under the 'old' quantum scale i.e. two months for ten years, three months for fifteen years and six months for twenty years.

This option only applies to those employees who were entitled to accrue the 'old' quantum by being employed as at 12 March 1975. Therefore nurses not employed as at that date can only gain their entitlement to long service leave under the new long service leave provisions which became effective from 12 March 1975.

PORTABILITY OF PREVIOUS SERVICE IN A FIFTH SCHEDULE HOSPITAL WHEN EMPLOYED IN A PUBLIC HOSPITAL OR AREA HEALTH SERVICE (90/115, 91/71)

1. It has been determined that previous service in a Fifth Schedule Hospital shall be recognised for the purposes of calculating long service leave entitlement when employed in a Public Hospital or Area Health Service.

2. Such recognition to apply on the same basis as if the employee (with Fifth Schedule Hospital service) was a former employee of a Public Hospital or Area Health Service.

3. The approval is applicable from 1 July 1989, for employees who are or will be employed in a Public Hospital or Area Health Service with previous Fifth Schedule Hospital service.

4. Community Health staff employed in Community Health prior to the transfer of this group to Area Health Services in 1986 are to be treated as stated above for employees of Fifth Schedule Hospitals. (91.71)

APPENDICES
A	SCHEDULE FOR CALCULATION OF LEAVE UNDER NEW PROVISIONS
B	OLD LONG SERVICE LEAVE AWARD CLAUSES
C	CLIMATIC ZONES
D	SCHEDULE FOR CALCULATION OF LEAVE UNDER OLD PROVISIONS
E	GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS GAZETTED IN TRANSFERRED OFFICERS EXTENDED LEAVE ACT
F	SCHEDULE "B" HOSPITALS

APPENDIX A - SCHEDULE FOR CALCULATIONS OF LEAVE UNDER NEW PROVISIONS

Service of between 5 and 10 years where the employee resigns on account of illness, domestic or pressing necessity or incapacity. One month for 5 years service. For each completed year of service between 5 and 10 years add 6 days and for each completed month of service add one half day.

Period of Service		Leave Due		Period of Service		Leave Due		Period of Service		Leave Due
Years	Mnths	Mnths	Days	Years	Mnths	Mnths	Days	Years	Mnths	Mnths	Days
5	-	1	-	7	-	1	12	9	-	1	24
5	1	1	½	7	1	1	12½	9	1	1	24½
5	2	1	1	7	2	1	13	9	2	1	25
5	3	1	1½	7	3	1	13½	9	3	1	25½
5	4	1	2	7	4	1	14	9	4	1	26
5	5	1	2½	7	5	1	14½	9	5	1	26½
5	6	1	3	7	6	1	15	9	6	1	27
5	7	1	3½	7	7	1	15½	9	7	1	27½
5	8	1	4	7	8	1	16	9	8	1	28
5	9	1	4½	7	9	1	16½	9	9	1	28½
5	10	1	5	7	10	1	17	9	10	1	29
5	11	1	5½	7	11	1	17½	9	11	1	29½
6	-	1	6	8	-	1	18	10	-	2	-
6	1	1	6½	8	1	1	18½
6	2	1	7	8	2	1	19
6	3	1	7½	8	3	1	19½
6	4	1	8	8	4	1	20
6	5	1	8½	8	5	1	20½
6	6	1	9	8	6	1	21
6	7	1	9½	8	7	1	21½
6	8	1	10	8	8	1	22
6	9	1	10½	8	9	1	22½
6	10	1	11	8	10	1	23
6	11	1	11½	8	11	1	23½

Where service of 10 years or more includes periods of less than a completed year leave shall accrue on such portion of a year as follows:

APPENDIX B - OLD LONG SERVICE LEAVE AWARD CLAUSES

Hospital Secretaries Award

"Old" Long Service Leave provisions (reprinted from New South Wales Industrial Gazette, 8 September 1971).

Clause 10. Long Service Leave

(i) (a) Every employee, after fifteen years continuous service, shall be entitled to three months long service leave on full pay; after a period of twenty years continuous service to a further three months long service leave on full pay. Thereafter, additional long service leave shall accrue from month to month on the basis of one and one half month's long service leave on full pay for each five years of such service.

(b) Where the services of an employee, with at least five years' continuous adult service and less than fifteen years' continuing service, are terminated, the employee shall be entitled for the first five years' service to one month's long service leave on full pay and for the service after the five years to a proportionate amount of such leave on full pay, calculated on the basis of three months' long service leave for fifteen years' service.

(c) Where the services of an employee with at least fifteen year's and less than twenty years' continuous service are terminated, the employee shall be entitled to have added to the three months provided in paragraph (a), of this subclause, a proportionate amount of leave on full pay calculated on the basis of three months for five years' service.

(ii) For the purpose of this clause "service" means in any position in a public hospital, whether covered by this Award or any other Award including such service prior to the commencement of this Award. It shall include service while a member of the defence forces of the Commonwealth in time of war provided that the employee was employed in any position in a public hospital prior to the war, or was so employed within a period of twelve months after termination of his war service, and it shall be deemed not to have been broken by:

(a) any absence from work on account of illness;

(b) other periods of absence not exceeding twelve months in the aggregate in the first fifteen years of service or four months in each succeeding five years of service;

(c) leave otherwise lawfully granted; provided that in calculating continuous service such leave shall not be taken into account as service except where the employee is on paid sick leave or long service leave, and where the employee undertakes with the approval of the Health Commission of New South Wales, a full-time course of study in hospital administration or any other course of study at any University or other institution approved by the Health Commission of New South Wales.

(iii) (a) All service in a hospital to which subclause (i) of clause 7, Climatic and Isolation Allowance, of this award applies shall be counted as one and one half times the actual service.

(b) All service in a hospital to which subclause (ii), of this said clause 7, applies shall be counted as twice the actual time served.

(iv) The provisions of subclause (iii), of this clause, shall not entitle the employee to long service leave unless the total service, including service as computed in accordance with that subclause, amounts to ten years or more.

(v) All service in a hospital by a part-time secretary shall be counted as one-half the actual time served whether actual or computed under subclauses (iii) and (iv), of this clause.

(vi) Long service leave shall be taken at a time mutually arranged by employer and employee; but after the taking of the first period of long service leave may be taken only at intervals of five years or longer except by agreement with the employer.

(vii) On the termination of employment or on the death of an employee an employer shall pay, to the employee in the case of termination of employment and to his legal personal representative in the case of death, the monetary value of all long service leave accrued and not taken at the date of such termination or death, and such monetary value shall be determined according to the salary payable to the employee at the date of such termination or death.

(viii) An employee who was not employed by a public hospital on 19 November 1964, but who is entitled to long service leave because of service prior to that date, shall not be entitled to take such long service leave until such employee has served continuously in public hospitals for a further period of three years, whether actual or computed in accordance with the provisions of subclauses (iii), (iv) or (v) of this clause.

(ix) For the purpose of administering this clause the board may require any employee, within this Award, to make a statutory declaration as to his service within the industry and the leave granted by and the monetary equivalents paid to him in lieu of such leave by any board and the employee, upon being requested to do so, shall supply such declaration.

(x) An employee who was employed as such on 9 October 1951, shall be entitled to such long service leave rights as were provided by the Hospital Secretaries (State) Award published 3 April 1947, and such rights shall be in substitution for and not in addition to the beforementioned rights;

Provided that in the calculation of such long service leave the provisions of subclause (ii), of this clause, shall apply, and provided further that the provisions of subclauses (iii) and (iv), of this clause, shall have effect only in respect of any service after the 9th October 1951.

Public Hospital Nurse (State) Award

"Old" Long Service Leave provisions (reprinted from New South Wales Industrial Gazette, 20 March 1974).

Clause 24. Long Service Leave

(i) (a) On completion of ten years' service an employee shall be entitled to two months' long service leave on full pay; after fifteen years' service to a further one month's long service leave on full pay; after a period of twenty years' service to a further three months' long service leave on full pay.

(b) If an employee, who has completed not less than ten year's service but less than fifteen years' service, ceases to be employed in the industry of nursing such employee shall be entitled to additional long service leave to that prescribed for an employee who has completed ten years' service and such additional leave shall accrue from month to month on the basis of one month's long service leave on full pay for five years of service.

(c) If an employee, who has completed not less than fifteen years' service but less than twenty years' service, ceases to be employed in the industry of nursing such employee shall be entitled to additional long service leave to that prescribed for an employee who has completed fifteen years' service and such additional leave shall accrue from month to month on the basis of three months' long service leave on full pay for five years of service.

(d) An employee, who has completed twenty years' service thereafter shall be entitled to long service leave which shall accrue from month to month on the basis of one and one-half months' long service leave on full pay for each five years of service.

(e) For the purposes of this clause service shall mean service in the industry of nursing and shall include such service prior to the date of operation of this award. It shall also include service whilst a member of the defence forces of the Commonwealth in time of war; provided that the employee was engaged in the industry of nursing prior to the war, or had entered such industry within a period of twelve months after termination of his or her war service.

(ii) All service to which subclause (i) of clause 15, Climatic and Isolation Allowance, of this award applies shall be counted as one and one-half times the actual time served.

(iii) All service to which subclause (ii) of the said clause 15 applies shall be counted as twice the actual time served.

(iv) An employee who was employed by the Department of Public Health at the Prince Henry Hospital prior to its becoming a public hospital shall, for the purposes of calculating long service leave, be deemed to have served in the industry of nursing for the period of actual service of the employee of the said hospital.

(v) An employee who was employed at St. Luke's Hospital prior to 31 October 1952, shall be deemed to have served in the industry of nursing for a period equal to the actual service of the employee with the hospital prior to the said date.

(vi) When a licensed private hospital, other than St. Luke's Hospital, becomes a public hospital and an employee of the said private hospital thereupon is employed by the said public hospital such employee, for the purpose of calculating service for long service leave, shall be deemed to have served in the industry of nursing for a period equal to 75 per centum of the actual continuous service with the employer in the said private hospital immediately prior to the said hospital becoming a public hospital.

(vii) Full pay shall mean the Award salary without any deduction for accommodation and/or board; provided that an employer shall be entitled to make such deduction for accommodation as is authorised by clause 28, Accommodation and Board, of this Award if the employee, having been requested by the employer to leave his or her own room completely vacant during the period of long service leave, fails to do so.

(viii) Long service leave shall be taken at a time mutually arranged by the employer and the employee but after the taking of the first period of long service leave further long service leave may be taken only at intervals of five years or longer except by agreement with the employer.

(ix) A person who was not employed in the industry of nursing at 13 December 1963, but who subsequently becomes employed therein and by reason of service prior to such commencement becomes entitled to long service leave shall not be entitled to take such leave until he or she has served in the said industry for a period whether actual or computed in accordance with subclause (ii) and (iii) of this clause equivalent to the period of his or her absences from the said industry or a period of three years, whichever is the lesser.

(x) On the termination of employment or on the death of an employee an employer shall pay, to the employee in the case of termination of employment and to the legal personal representative in the case of death, the monetary value of all long service leave accrued and not taken at the date of such termination or death, and such monetary value shall be determined according to the salary payable to the employee at the date of such termination or death.

(xi) Rights to long service leave under this clause shall be in replacement of rights to long service leave, if any, which at the date of the operation of this Award may have accrued or may be accruing to an employee, (i.e. 20/3/1974). Where an employee has been granted long service leave or has been paid its monetary value prior to the date of operation of this Award the employer shall be entitled to debit such leave against any leave to which the employee may be entitled pursuant to this clause.

(xii) Any period of part-time service with a public hospital shall be counted on the basis of the proportion that the actual number of hours each week worked or computed in accordance with the provisions of subclauses (ii) and (iii), of this clause, bears to forty hours, and the period so calculated shall be paid for at the full weekly salary prescribed by clause 11, Salaries, of this award.

Provided that only part-time service one and from the beginning of the first day period to commence on or after 1 January 1970, shall count for the purpose of this subclause.

Hospital Employees (State) Award

"Old" Long Service Leave provisions (reprinted from New South Wales Industrial Gazette, 24 June 1970).

Clause 15. Long Service Leave

(i) (a) Every employee, after fifteen years continuous service, shall be entitled to three month's long service leave on full pay; after a period of twenty years of continuous service to a further three months long service leave on full pay; thereafter additional long service leave shall accrue from month to month on the basis of one and one half months' long service on full pay for each five years of service.

(b) Where the services of an employee with at least five years continuous adult service and less than ten years continuous service are terminated the employee shall be entitled to be paid a proportionate amount for long service leave on the basis of three months' long service leave for fifteen years service.

(c) Where the service of an employee with at least ten years and less than fifteen years continuous service are terminated the employee shall be entitled to be paid a proportionate amount for long service leave on the basis of three months' long service leave for fifteen years' service.

(d) Where the services of an employee with at least fifteen years and less than twenty years continuous service are terminated the employee shall be entitled to have added to the three months provided for in paragraph (a), of this subclause, a proportionate amount of leave on full pay calculated on the basis of three months' leave for five years service.

(ii) For the purposes of this clause:

(a) Service shall mean service with one or more hospitals and shall include service prior to the commencement of this Award.

(b) (1) All service in hospitals to which subclause (i), of clause 6. Climatic and Isolation Allowance, of this Award, applies shall be counted as one and one half times the actual time served.

(2) All service in hospitals to which subclause (ii), of the said clause 6, applies shall be counted as twice the actual time served.

(3) Any period of part-time service with a public hospital shall be counted on the basis of the proportion that the actual number of hours each week worked or computed in accordance with the provisions of subparagraphs (1) and (2) of this paragraph bears to forty hours, and the period so calculated shall be paid for at the full weekly salary prescribed by Clause 4, Salaries and Wages, of this Award.

(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraphs (1), (2) and (3), of this paragraph, no employee shall be entitled to Long Service Leave unless the employee has served for an actual period of not less than five years.

(c) Service with the Defence Force of the Commonwealth in time of war shall count as service for the purposes of this clause, provided that the employee was employed by a hospital prior to the war or entered such employment within a period of twelve months after the termination of the employee's war service.

(d) Subject to this clause "Service" includes service with a hospital prior to the commencement of the Award.

(e) Continuous service shall be deemed not to have been broken by:

(1) Absence from hospital employment when it can be established that such absence is due to the illness of the employee.

(2) Period of absence from hospital employment immediately following termination of employment in respect of which employment a pro rata payment has been made for annual leave or long service leave but not exceeding the period the employee would have been required to work to earn as salary an amount equal to such pro rata payment.

(3) Any reasonable absence from such hospital employment occasioned by an employee transferring from one hospital to another but not exceeding on any one occasion fourteen days following the expiration of any paid leave.

(4) Any period of absence from hospital employment on leave without pay not exceeding six months.

(iii) Long service leave shall be taken at a time mutually arranged between the employer and the employee.

(iv) On the termination of employment or on the death of an employee an employer shall pay, to the employee in the case of termination of employment and to the legal personal representative in the case of death, the monetary value of all long service leave accrued and not taken at the date of such termination or death and such monetary value shall be determined according to the salary payable to the employee at the date of such termination or death.

(v) An employee who was not employed by a public hospital at the commencement of this Award but who is entitled to long service leave because of service prior to that date shall not be entitled to take such long service leave until such employee has served continuously in public hospitals for a further period of three years whether actual or computed, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (b), or subclause (ii), of this clause.

(vi) Rights to long service leave under this clause shall be in replacement of rights to long service leave, if any, which at the date of gazette of this Award, i.e. 24/6/1970 may have accrued or may be accruing to an employee. Where an employee has been granted long service leave, or has been paid its monetary value, prior to the date of the commencement of this Award the employer shall be entitled to debit such leave against any leave to which the employee may be entitled pursuant to this clause.

APPENDIX C - CLIMATIC ZONES

Applicable to Old Award Provisions Only

APPENDIX D - SCHEDULE FOR CALCULATION OF LEAVE UNDER OLD PROVISIONS

APPENDIX E - GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS GAZETTED IN TRANSFERRED OFFICERS EXTENDED LEAVE ACT

APPENDIX E(a) - TRANSFERRED OFFICERS EXTENDED LEAVE 1961

APPENDIX F - "SCHEDULE B" HOSPITALS

These hospitals are "deemed" to be declared authorities of the Transferred Officers' Extended Leave Act within the New South Wales Public Hospital System. *(92/48, 92/65)

RECOGNITION OF SERVICE - AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY (ACT) PUBLIC SERVICE (98/1)

As previously advised the Public Employment Office (PEO) has approved that continuous service with the ACT Public Service, including service with the Department of Health and Community Care, be recognised as service in terms of the NSW Transferred Officers Extended Leave Act. Listed below are the names of ACT Government Departments whose employees are employed pursuant to the Public Sector Management Act 1994 (ACT).

ACT Electoral Commission	ACT Legislative Assembly
Health and Community Care	Emergency Services
Urban Services	Consumer Affairs
Industrial Relations	Education and Training
Business, Employment and Tourism	Housing and Family Services
Arts and Heritage	Sport and Recreation
Environment, Land and Planning	Children's and Youth Services
Attorney General's Department	ACT Government Audit Office
Chief Minister's Department (includes - Office of Public Administration and Management	Office of Financial Management - formerly Treasury)

Prior to the enactment of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 (ACT) employees of the above organisations were employed pursuant to the Public Service Act 1922 Commonwealth.

Any enquiries concerning this Circular should be directed in the first instance to your hospital/health service Personnel/Human Resources Department. Only hospital/health service Personnel/Human Resource Department personnel should contact the Department directly.

RECOGNITION OF PRIOR SERVICE - THE TRANSFERRED OFFICERS EXTENDED LEAVE ACT 1961 (99/1)

The Premier's Department, Public Sector Management Office has issued advice concerning the recognition of service in public hospitals of other States/Territories in terms of the NSW Transferred Officers Extended Leave Act, 1961 (the Act). The Act allows for recognition of previous service for the purposes of calculating long service leave entitlements subject to certain provisions, including that the service is continuous and the service is under the respective Public Service Act.

The Department has now been advised that service in public hospitals in the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory, Tasmania and Western Australia is under their respective Public Service Acts. Such service is therefore eligible to be included when calculating extended (long service) leave entitlements by New South Wales public sector organisations, including those within the public health system, provided it satisfies the continuity of service requirement of the Act.

The same provisions would apply to service of most employees who worked in hospitals operated by the Commonwealth, unless another specific contractual relationship existed, eg such as a Visiting Medical Officer appointed as an independent contractor.

It should be noted that it is the responsibility of the person seeking recognition of previous service for extended (long service) leave purposes to supply the current employer with all the relevant documentation concerning such previous employment. Such documentation should include details of the period of employment, whether the employment was full-time or part-time (if part-time the number of hours worked per week should be included), details of any leave without pay and details of any long service leave taken or paid.

Any enquires from individuals concerning recognition of service should be directed to their employer in the first instance. Only hospital/health service Personnel/Human Resource Department personnel should contact the Department directly.

APPENDIX G - HOSPITAL EMPLOYEES (OTHER THAN NURSES) APPLICATION FOR LONG SERVICE LEAVE

APPENDIX G - PAGE 2

APPENDIX H - NURSES' APPLICATION FOR LONG SERVICE LEAVE

APPENDIX H - PAGE 2

PUBLIC HOSPITAL EMPLOYEES LONG SERVICE LEAVE ENTITLEMENTS FOR PERMANENT PART-TIME EMPLOYEES (93/38)

The purpose of this circular is to provide clarification in respect to the above and assist personnel in the calculation, payment and recording of long service leave for "new" Permanent Part-time employees (i.e. those not in receipt of a part-time loading) and employees who have had a combination of Full-time and "new" Permanent Part-time employment.

Following a review of the introduction of "new" Permanent Part-time classifications into other Awards the Department has determined that the provisions outlined in Departmental Circular 88/88 which related to long service leave for "new" Permanent Part-time Nurses, is to apply in respect to all "new" Permanent Part-time employees.

Difficulties also have arisen in the past in respect to the calculation and payment of long service leave for those employees who have had a combination of full-time and "new" permanent part-time service and who wish to take a proportion of their long service leave during their employment. To assist in the calculation of entitlements the attached calculation sheet has been developed, (Appendix A).

Employees who have worked a combination of "new" permanent part-time and full-time service and who either proceed on leave or terminate are entitled to the quantum of long service leave for the actual period of service. However, the payment due would be at an adjusted monetary rate based on the FTE period of leave.

The formula used on the attached calculation sheet requires that months/days accrued be converted to days only (refer to Sections A and B - Total days) and the following table is to be used for this process. For example, if an employee has 15 years service and a long service leave entitlement of 4 months 15 days, then for the purpose of the formula 136 days would be used. Alternately the table is to be used to convert several periods of leave which were less than whole months to months, e.g. an employee who has taken two (2) periods of three (3) weeks would have one (1) month twelve (12) days recorded as leave taken.

CONVERSION OF MONTHS TO DAYS
1	month equivalent to 30 calender days
2	months equivalent to 61 calender days
3	months equivalent to 91 calender days
4	months equivalent to 121 calender days
5	months equivalent to 152 calender days
6	months equivalent to 182 calender days
7	months equivalent to 212 calender days
8	months equivalent to 243 calender days
9	months equivalent to 273 calender days
10	months equivalent to 304 calender days
11	months equivalent to 334 calender days
12	months equivalent to 365 calender days

At Section C, point 1, when the "Number of days payable at full-time rate of pay" is calculated, this should be rounded off to the nearest ¼ (quarter) day and then that figure (C.1) should be used for the calculation at Section C, point 2.

At Section D, "Total Leave Taken" indicates the actual period of absence and "Total FTE Leave Paid" indicates the FTE days debited against Computed Service Accrued. The employees leave record should also be noted with both figures.

When the employee applies for further long service leave during employment or terminates, a new calculation sheet will be completed and personnel should ensure that the information at Section D of all previous calculation sheets is aggregated and transferred to the appropriate point in Sections A and B of the new calculation sheet.

For your information sample calculation sheets have been completed (Appendices B and C) for an employee who has worked ten (10) years full time and five (5) years @ half time i.e. "new" permanent part-time) and are attached. The calculation sheet is only to be used for staff employed as "new" Permanent Part-time and those staff who have had e combination of full-time and permanent part-time employment and is not to be used for those employed who are in receipt of a part-time loading.

Those part-time employees who are in receipt of the part-time loading by reason of the fact that they were employed prior to the introduction of the "new" Permanent Part-time classification into their Award and have not made an election to be "new" Permanent Part-time, gain an entitlement to long service leave from the Long Service Leave Act and not the relevant Public Hospital Award.

All enquiries concerning the application of this Circular should be directed by the hospitals to the respective Area Health Service or the Rural Health Directorate. Only Area Health Services or Rural Health Directorate human resources/industrial personnel should contact the Department direct for clarification or advice.

APPENDIX A - LONG SERVICE LEAVE PAYMENT CALCULATION

APPENDIX B - LONG SERVICE LEAVE PAYMENT CALCULATION

APPENDIX C - LONG SERVICE LEAVE PAYMENT CALCULATION

LONG SERVICE LEAVE - PUBLIC HOSPITALS - PART-TIME AND FULL-TIME SERVICE (93/71)

The Department has received a number of enquiries from Area Health Services/Regions and representations from the Health and Research Employees' Association concerning the correct manner of calculating Long Service Leave entitlements for employees who have a combination of full-time service and "old" part-time service (i.e. those employees in receipt of a part-time loading).

This Circular applies to all part-time employees who are in receipt of a part-time loading including those covered by the:

i) Hospital Employees' Conditions of Employment (State) Award, except for the classifications of Radiographer and Nuclear Medicine Technologist who are employed on the "new" permanent part-time basis in these classifications.

ii) Public Hospital Nurses (State) Award - "Old" part-time only.

iii) Professional and Allied Health Awards - "Old" part-time only.

The Public Hospital - Leave Matters Manual and relevant Public Hospital Awards deal with accrual of Long Service Leave for full-time employees and employees who have had previous "old" part-time service which merged (without a break) with full-time service. However, the issue of previous full-time service which merges (without a break) with "old" part-time service is not addressed.

This Circular deals with the correct method of calculating "service" for the purpose of determining long service leave entitlements for employees who transfer between full-time employment and "old" part-time employment. The following gives a brief outline of the provisions which apply to employees who alter their hours of employment:

1. Transfer from full-time to "old" Part-time

Previous full-time service (with the same employer) is to be counted for long service under the provisions of the Long Service Leave Act.

2. Transfer from "old" part-time to full-time

The Award, which provides for Long Service Leave entitlements for full-time employees, allows previous part-time service to be counted for long service leave accruals if:

• it merges without a break with subsequent full-time service, and

• the employee worked the equivalent of at least two full days duty per week.

By way of example, where an employee, who is currently employed as "old" part-time, had eight (8) years previous full-time service and has now completed four (4) years part-time service, the total service for the purpose of calculating long service leave entitlements would be twelve (12) years and the entitlement would be due under the provisions of the Long Service Leave Act, including the definition of "ordinary rate".

If, the above employee resigned and was, at some future time re-employed on a full-time or permanent part-time basis (long service leave would be paid in accordance with the provisions of the relevant Award) the employee would only count the previous period of full-time service towards the accrual of long service leave. The part-time service could not be counted i.e. it did not meet the requirements outlined in (2) above.

For example, as the employee has only completed eight (8) years full-time service, if re-employed on a full-time basis, he/she would need to complete two (2) years of service before he/she is eligible to proceed on long service leave (i.e. after ten (10) years' service). After two (2) years he/she would have accrued twelve (12) calender days. After the completion of two (2) years the rate of accrual would be fifteen (15) days per annum. Therefore, after the employee has completed say six (6) years after being re-employed their long service leave entitlement would be two (2) months and twelve (12) days. No payment is to be made in respect to the previous eight (8) years, only the years of service are to be recognised for the purpose of the rate of accrual.

Mindful of the fact that employee records may be destroyed in time it is suggested that to avoid possible future difficulties Hospitals/Area Health Services implement a system where details of an employees employment history and long service leave payments can be recorded for future reference.

Special Note: Notwithstanding the purpose of this Circular is to deal with "old" part-time employees, it should be remembered that when full-time employees transfer to permanent part-time or vice versa the entitlements for long service leave are obtained from the relevant Award. Departmental Circular 93/38 deals with the correct method of calculation and payment of long service leave for those employees who have had a combination of full-time and permanent part-time employment.

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