Page 4184 - Week 14 - Tuesday, 26 November 2013
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Changes will also be made to put beyond doubt that the registrar has no power to re-register a worker with the new registration date where that worker has already registered with the portable scheme. The bill will also allow courts to require an employer to pay late fees or levies they owe without finding them guilty of an offence under the act.
The bill provides improved certainty and flexibility for the authority in managing the funds of each portable scheme under the direction of the governing board. Amendments will clarify what comprises authority money and expressly allow that money to be applied in payment of the authority’s administrative costs. It also explicitly allows the authority to establish a common fund to pay joint expenses and obligations and to invest moneys jointly on behalf of more than one covered in the industry.
In administering the act, the authority has identified several minor changes that would assist employers and workers to comply with their duties. These are also reflected in the bill. Firstly, it confirms that the act does not affect workers who have more beneficial long service leave entitlements under a contract of employment. The bill also clarifies how a worker can elect to take their long service leave under another law when they have accrued some entitlements with the authority. In addition, it makes clear when the registrar is able to reimburse a payment made to an employee under another long service leave law. Finally, the bill makes minor consequential amendments to give effect to the changes the minister has described earlier and to make the law easier to understand and apply.
The territory has the most comprehensive portable long service leave schemes in Australia. On 1 January this year, a portable scheme came into effect for the security industry. In the first six months of this scheme, the Long Service Leave Authority registered 17 new employers and more than 1,000 workers. By allowing workers to take their entitlements with them, portable schemes protect workers’ entitlements and also contribute to the sustainability of industries by helping to attract and retain workers, rewarding those who choose to stay in the industry.
The reality is that, for many workers moving between employers and between contracts, it is a fact of life. In establishing past schemes, the government has selected industries characterised by frequent changes in working arrangements. This is indicated by factors such as a high proportion of short-term casual and part-time work as well as contract work.
As the Assembly is well aware, the government is committed to protecting the entitlement to long service leave, and the minister will introduce a further bill in 2014 to extend the contract cleaning scheme to waste workers. This step recognises the importance of the sector and its workforce to the ACT community and seeks to improve attraction and retention of workers in future.
Extending the portable scheme for the contract cleaning industry to these workers will enable a broader range of workers to qualify for long service leave in future and will ensure the territory remains at the forefront of protecting workers’ rights and assisting to build these essential industries.
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