Paying long service leave in the building and construction industry

Paying worker long service entitlements

The building and construction industry long service payments scheme does not replace your obligations to pay long service to your workers under the Long Service Leave Act 1955 (the 1955 Act). Under the 1955 Act, workers are entitled to long service leave if they work for one employer for 10 consecutive years.

Workers can choose to claim their long service leave:

• from their organisation under the 1955 Act, or
• from Long Service Corporation (LSC) under the portable scheme.

Workers cannot claim the same entitlement from both the scheme and the 1955 Act.

Read more about worker eligibility and the 1955 Act.

Contact LSC before making a long service leave payment

Let LSC know before you pay long service leave under the 1955 Act to a worker listed in your service returns.

This is to stop workers from receiving a long service payment from the portable scheme (for the same period) should they mistakenly apply to LSC at the same time.

We will tell you when your worker receives a long service payment from the portable scheme. You should note this on their records to make sure that the worker does not get a double payment for any period of work.

Failure by employers to meet the requirements, resulting in a double payment to workers, may:

• result in debt recovery action against workers
• prevent any reimbursement payment to an employer where a worker claims a benefit from both you and LSC.

Employers must notify us of any proposed long service payments using the Employer Portal.

Check if a worker has made a claim

If you are an employer and want to check if a worker has made a claim, you can contact Service NSW on 13 14 41.

After making a long service payment

Once the payment has been made, the employer can submit an employer claim to LSC, requesting reimbursement for the period of leave they have paid the worker. 

The employer must lodge the claim within 2 years from the date of making the payment, or a reimbursement cannot be made to them.

If a payment was made more than 2 years prior to the claim, the employer still has an obligation to lodge an employer claim so the period can be removed from the worker’s service balance and shown as ‘claimed’ on the worker’s record.

When paying the employer, we will include any recorded service that has been lodged within the required 2-year timeframe from the date the work was initially performed, as calculated by LSC in accordance with the Building and Construction Industry Long Service Payments Act 1986.