The Federal Government’s Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten has put long service leave for musicians on the agenda, saying he has brought the idea up with his colleagues in the parliament and intends to introduce a brief to a parliamentary committee.

“One of the conditions which working Australians have had factored in is long-service leave,” Shorten told Crikey.

“I’m going to ask the House of Representatives to investigate the remuneration of performing artists with practical reference to long-service leave.”

“It’s been brought to my attention by people like [composer] Paul Grabowsky. It’s very unusual for a performing artist or musician to work in one place for 15 years.”

Under the National Employment Standards set out by the federal government, employees who work for the same business for a long period of time, including those working casually, are entitled to long service leave.

The standards say that most entitlements should be paid out after 10 years of continuous service, at the normal rate of pay for that employee.

As a result, most musicians will never receive long service leave.

The structure of the music business means that most musicians are employed either short term, on once-off contracts, and as part of a small business they are operating – making them ineligible for long service leave entitlements.

But Shorten wants that changed, and he’s hoping his parliamentary colleagues will agree with his plan to make long service leave portable, accrue over time to an individual rather than with a particular employer.

“One possible model is that after 15 years in an industry you become eligible for long-service leave,” Shorten said.

“An employer would pay a small portion, it would be administered by a super fund, and that money is invested, so it’s a bit of a nest egg.”

Shorten has estimated that the total cost of operating the scheme would only amount to an extra four days pays every year.

Musicians who became eligible under the scheme would receive the equivalent of 13 weeks’ pay after performing for 15 years, with the entitlement paid out in cash.

“But,” he cautioned, “it has a cost, so that always has to be factored.”

But the scope of the scheme would be extremely narrow stressed Shorten. Freelance artists working as sole traders or businesses for instance would not be eligible, effectively ruling out most bands.

“And it may be that many performing artists are small businesses, in which case it would not apply to them.”

But regardless of the strict filter, Shorten thinks the scheme would be an important asset for improving the length of most musicians careers.

“What’s the cost of artists burning out?” he asks. “The arts are about people. Not everyone can be Geoffrey Rush or Cate Blanchett. You need a whole lot of people and it’s about recognising the importance of all the people working in the arts.”

So what do you think? Should long service leave be made available to musicians and other artists who spend 15 years of more in the industry working? Sound off in the comments and let us know in our poll.

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