00:00Having started in the industry as a casual bar worker, restaurateur Ross McQuinn sees
00:08merit in a portable long service leave scheme.
00:11I think that it will encourage retention in the industry.
00:14I think it solidifies it as a serious job, not just something that people do while they're
00:21waiting for a real job.
00:22But in tough economic times, he says the scheme's looming levy could push his business over
00:28the cliff.
00:29We came out of a post-COVID world and we had quite good trading conditions for a while
00:33and that's sort of dried up and everyone's aware of interest rates going up, cost of
00:37living and one of the first things to go is restaurants because it's discretionary spending.
00:43With that in mind, the government has put a 15 month pause on the expansion of its scheme.
00:48Household spending is up, but when it comes to accommodation and food services, spending
00:54is down.
00:56And I think this is evidence and Canberrans will know this by seeing many much-loved local
01:01hospitality businesses unfortunately ceasing.
01:04Building and construction, contract cleaning, the community sector and the security industry
01:10are all already covered by the portable long service leave scheme, where employers register
01:15and pay a set levy on the gross ordinary wages of eligible employees.
01:21The government is then liable for the workers' pay if and when they take their long service
01:25entitlement, even if they change jobs.
01:28It recognises the sort of work environments that we have now.
01:33It's not necessarily the case that people work for the one employer for decades.
01:39Long time advocate for the scheme, Lyndall Ryan, says it's made a big difference for
01:43workers when businesses have gone under.
01:46Because employers have been paying long service leave continuously and because our long service
01:52leave authority is active in pursuing employers when they don't.
01:57People have been collapsed without anything, any of their entitlements preserved, but their
02:03long service leave was safe.
02:05If you were going to do it, this is the worst possible time to implement it.
02:09Industry groups have welcomed the pause of the scheme's expansion, even if they didn't
02:13agree with the policy in the first place.
02:16Long service leave ultimately is supposed to reward long service to an employer.
02:20It doesn't make a lot of sense to create a blanket entitlement.
02:24The government argues the levy is likely to go down over time, and the scheme levels the
02:29playing field by ensuring all in the sector are chipping in for long service leave.
02:34When businesses talk about this being an impost on them, I really urge them to think holistically
02:38about the industry, making it a great place for people to make a career out of.
02:43Some business owners, like Ross McQuinn, think the scheme would work better if it covered
02:48the entire private sector and had greater recognition and exchangeability between jurisdictions.
02:54He's hoping changes are made before the expansion goes ahead in July next year.
Comments