Long Service Leave (1) Subject to subclause (3) of this clause, an employee who has completed ten years’ continuous service with the employer shall be entitled to
(a) up to 31 December 2006, ten weeks’ long service leave
(b) from 1 January 2007, thirteen weeks’ long service leave
(c) For each subsequent period of ten years’ service an employee shall be entitled to an additional thirteen weeks’ long service leave.
(2) An employee who has accrued a minimum entitlement of ten weeks’ long service leave shall be entitled to take such leave.
(3) Employees are entitled to take long service leave in minimum periods of one week.
(4) In calculating an employee’s entitlement under this clause, continuous service with the employer prior to the 1st day of January 1997 shall be taken into account in the following manner:
(a) In the case of an employee who has already accrued an entitlement to long service leave with the employer prior to the 1st day of January, 1997, the employee shall continue to accrue subsequent entitlements to long service leave in accordance with the provisions of subclause (1) of this clause.
(b) In the case of an employee who, at the 1st day of January 1997, had not accrued an entitlement to long service leave, the employee’s entitlement shall be calculated on the following basis: For any period of continuous employment prior to the 1st day of January 1997, an amount calculated on the basis of 13 weeks’ long service leave on full pay for each 15 years of continuous service, in accordance with the relevant award.
(c) In the case of employees who have worked less than full-time during the accrual period, long service leave shall be paid at the rate of the average of hours worked over the accrual period.
(5) The expression “continuous service” includes any period during which the employee is absent on full pay from their duties, but does not include:
(a) Any period exceeding two weeks during which the employee is absent on leave without pay. In the case of leave without pay which exceeds eight weeks in a continuous period, the entire period of that leave is excised in full;
(b) Any service of an employee who resigns or is dismissed, other than service prior to such resignation or prior to the date of any offence in respect of which they are dismissed by the employer, when that prior service has actually entitled the employee to long service leave under this clause.
(6) Any entitlement to annual leave that falls due during the period of long service leave shall be recognised as extra leave and not included in the long service leave.
(7) Any public holiday which occurs during the period an employee is on long service leave shall be treated as part of the long service leave and extra days in lieu thereof shall not be granted.
(8) Where an employee has become entitled to a period of long service leave in accordance with this clause, the employee shall commence such leave as soon as possible after the accrual date, or in a manner mutually agreed between the employer and employee.
(9) Payment for long service leave shall be made;
(a) in full before the employee goes on leave, or
(b) by the normal fortnightly payment intervals;
(c) or by agreement between the employee and the employer.
(10) Where an employee has completed at least 7 years’ service but less than 10 years’ service and employment is terminated-
(a) by their death;
(b) in any circumstances, other than serious misconduct, the amount of leave shall be such proportion to the number of completed years of such service bears to 10 years.
(11) In the case to which subclause (8) of this clause applies and in any case in which the employment of the employee who has become entitled to leave hereunder is terminated before such leave is taken or fully taken the employer shall, upon termination of employment otherwise than by death, pay to the employee and upon termination by death, pay to the personal representative of the employee upon request by the personal representative, a sum equivalent to the amount which would have been payable in respect of the period of leave to which they are entitled or deemed to have been entitled and which would have been taken but for termination. Such payment shall be deemed to have satisfied the obligation of the employer in respect of leave hereunder.
(12) Where an employee is ill during a period of long service leave and produces at the time, or as soon as practicable thereafter, medical evidence that would satisfy a reasonable person that as a result of illness or injury the employee was confined to their place of residence or a medical facility for a period of at least fourteen (14) consecutive days, the employer shall grant sick leave for the period the employee was so confined and reinstate long service leave equivalent to the period of confinement.
Warranty Service 1. When repair or replacement services covered by this Agreement are required, you must telephone us at the toll-free service number printed on your Agreement Coverage Summary page. Telephone service is available twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week. You must notify us immediately upon discovery of any mechanical failure, and prior to the expiration of the term of the Agreement during which the failure occurred. If you fail to notify us of any mechanical failure prior to the expiration of the term of the Agreement during which the failure occurred, we will not be responsible for the cost of any repairs and/or replacements resulting from the mechanical failure.
2. We will provide you with a referral to an independent service contractor. We will use reasonable efforts to provide a referral to an independent service contractor within two (2) hours after the service request is received during normal business hours and within twenty-four (24) hours for requests received after normal business hours and on weekends or holidays. In the event we determine, at our sole discretion, that there is an emergency situation requiring expedited service, we will make reasonable efforts to expedite service. We will determine, at our sole discretion, which repairs constitute an emergency and will give consideration to covered mechanical failures that affect the habitability of the dwelling.
3. We have sole authority to select independent service contractors. All repair and/or replacement work covered by this Agreement must be performed by a pre-approved independent service contractor, and all repair and replacement services must be approved by us in advance. We are not responsible or liable for and will not cover any expenses you incur without our prior express consent, and we will not reimburse you for any costs you incur associated with unauthorized repair or replacement work performed by unauthorized contractors.
4. This Agreement includes a deductible charge, listed on your Agreement Coverage Summary, that you must pay per trade on each service call made towards the covered portion of any claim. When a covered claim requires more than one trade to complete the covered repair/replacement only one deductible charge will be required. Trades include appliance, air conditioning, heating, electrical, plumbing, and any other trade specifically required to service Covered Items listed on your Agreement Coverage Summary. You are responsible for and shall pay the independent service contractor directly for the service call and for actual work performed and/or Items installed, up to the amount of the deductible at the time of visit(s), in a manner acceptable to the independent service contractor. You are responsible for and shall pay the independent service contractor for any amounts due for services performed or parts installed that are not covered under the terms, conditions and provisions of this Agreement. A service call includes, without limitation, inspecting, diagnosing, and/or performing service for the repair or replacement of a malfunctioning Item.
5. You will provide access to the covered property during normal business hours for the independent service contractor to diagnose, obtain approval for, and/or complete repairs for covered mechanical failures. You will pay us and/or our independent service contractor for any service charges and additional charges assessed by our independent service contractor resulting from your failure to provide access to the covered property and/or for missed appointments.
6. Should any building or zoning permits be necessary, you are responsible for paying for and/or obtaining these permits and the cost associated with these permits.
7. At our discretion, we may elect to replace a Covered Item rather than repair it. The decision to replace rather than repair Covered Items is solely our option. Should we choose to replace a Covered Item the replacement will be the base model that meets all applicable federally mandated minimal manufacturers’ standards, performs the same primary function, and has a capacity comparable to the Covered Item, when available with domestically assembled units. With respect to kitchen/laundry appliances, we will make reasonable efforts to provide replacement Covered Items having similar mechanical capabilities and/or efficiency of the original unit, when available. We are not required to provide exact match in color, dye, lot, material, type or brand. When replacing systems or appliances, we will be responsible for the installation of the replacement Covered Item but not for the cost of the construction, modifications, carpentry or transitional work made necessary in order to accommodate the replacement, nor for any costs to upgrade or modify Covered Items for any reason. Should we determine to replace Covered Item and you instead choose to effect a repair, that Covered Item shall be excluded from further coverage under this Agreement and subsequent renewals.
8. At our discretion, we may give you the option to elect to receive a repair/replacement credit or cash payment (net of deductible) in lieu of providing a repair. In such cases, the amount of such credit shall be equal to the lesser of the approved cost of repair or the estimated cost of replacement. If you elect a credit to our independent service contractor, we will pay that amount directly to the independent service contractor after the work has been completed. If you elect the cash payment, you must supply documentation supporting that the Item in question has been purchased, replaced or repaired prior to receiving the cash payment. Any replacement Item must be installed in the covered property as listed on the Agreement Summary Page. The amount of the approved cost of repair or replacement will be established by us at our sole discretion. We reserve the right to inspect repaired and/or replacement Items.
9. We reserve the right to obtain, at our expense, a second opinion by an independent service contractor prior to determining eligibility for coverage.