My first job, out of high school, was as an apprentice Electrician at a coal mine. I can remember after maybe 12 months or so, after having gotten used to working with the dozen or so different tradesmen and knowing what to watch out for, a new electrician turned up to work at the coal mine one day. As it turned out, he wasn't a new guy, he'd been away on long service leave. In Australia we used to have available for many if not most employees a fully paid 3 month, 12 week break after you'd completed 10 full years service at that one employer. Our organization, the State Electricity Commission, had a really good program where if an employee wanted a 6 month break they could take this time off with 1/2 pay, or 12 months with 1/4 pay. For a lot of people they'd use this time taking their young families on holidays of a lifetime, or a young parent could help with the first 3, 6 or 12 months life raising a new baby, or some took the time and built or renovated their homes.
Of course that employer disbanded when the State of Victoria sold all its electricity assets so this Long Service Leave entitlement went with it.
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