A few years ago I worked for a big company in Victoria. After 8 years, I decided to leave. I worked my 4 weeks notice as required. I had accumulated 431 hours of long service leave which I expected to received in accordance with our EBA which stated that it would paid out to employees who resign after 7 years.
2 weeks into my notice period, there was a vote on a new EBA and one week later, one week before the end of my notice period, that new EBA came into effect. I did not read it or vote on it since I was leaving.
After I left the company I received my last payslip and realised that my long service leave had not been paid out as the new EBA stated that an employee had to had been in the company for 10 years instead of 7.
I was told that long service leave entitlement are calculated on the last day of a notice period and therefore my employer was right to not pay it. But the HR department of my new employer assured me that long service leave is calculated according to the EBA the employee is under when their resignation is accepted and therefore I should have received it.
My employer was constantly underpaying me by "forgetting" allowances, etc so I wouldn't put it past them to have unlawfully whithheld my long service leave. Last year, the union took them to court and won over unpaid allowance.
I am not a member of a union and I am unsure about hiring a lawyer when I don't whether I'm right. I've been searching the internet but can't find a definite answer.
Was I entitled to my long service leave?
2 weeks into my notice period, there was a vote on a new EBA and one week later, one week before the end of my notice period, that new EBA came into effect. I did not read it or vote on it since I was leaving.
After I left the company I received my last payslip and realised that my long service leave had not been paid out as the new EBA stated that an employee had to had been in the company for 10 years instead of 7.
I was told that long service leave entitlement are calculated on the last day of a notice period and therefore my employer was right to not pay it. But the HR department of my new employer assured me that long service leave is calculated according to the EBA the employee is under when their resignation is accepted and therefore I should have received it.
My employer was constantly underpaying me by "forgetting" allowances, etc so I wouldn't put it past them to have unlawfully whithheld my long service leave. Last year, the union took them to court and won over unpaid allowance.
I am not a member of a union and I am unsure about hiring a lawyer when I don't whether I'm right. I've been searching the internet but can't find a definite answer.
Was I entitled to my long service leave?
