It is only fair to recognise the dedication and commitment of your long-serving employees by rewarding them accordingly. The amount of long service leave that an employee should receive depends on the laws of the state or territory in which they work. Typically, these laws provide the leave payments that you must pay your employees and how long your employees must work for you to receive long service leave entitlements. This article will guide you through the relevant laws of states and territories in Australia, helping you calculate your employees’ entitlements accurately.
Preliminary Considerations
As mentioned above, laws regarding long service leave are generally specific to states and territories. However, these laws will not apply to national system employees if:
- you employed them before 1 January 2010; and
- a federal pre-modern award outlines long service leave entitlements.
In this instance, you can likely derive your employee’s long service leave entitlements from their pre-modern award.
On the other hand, if your employee is covered by a modern award from 1 January 2010, these awards will not deal with long service leave. Instead, you can find your employee’s leave entitlements in the applicable state and territory laws depending on where your employee works at the time they take their leave or where their employment ends.
Calculating Long Service Leave Payments
Although entitlements to long service leave will vary between states and territories, you should generally pay your employees their ordinary pay rate for the duration of their long service leave period. Ordinary pay or a base rate does not include allowances, shift loading, penalties and overtime rates.
In any event, you should note that upon your employee’s termination, you must pay out any unused long service leave to your employee.
Continue reading this article below the formSummary of State and Territory Long Service Leave Laws
The applicable long service leave laws for your employees can vary depending on their location at the time of taking leave or at the end of their employment. This may be further complicated where your employees have worked across more than one state or territory or overseas, during their tenure with you. If you are uncertain about the specific long service leave laws that apply to your employees, it is advisable to consult with a lawyer.
New South Wales
In NSW, employees are generally entitled to two months of long service leave upon completing ten years of continuous service. This includes full-time, part-time and casual employees. In addition to this, for every five years that your employee works after their initial ten years, they are entitled to an additional month of long service leave.
You should note that an employee who has completed between five and ten years of continuous service may be entitled to pro-rata long service leave if:
- they resign as a result of an illness, incapacity or domestic matter; and
- you did not terminate them as a result of serious misconduct.
To calculate your employee’s leave entitlements in NSW, you can use the following calculator.
As an employer, understand your essential employment obligations with this free LegalVision factsheet.
Victoria
In Victoria, employees are generally entitled to long service leave of one-sixtieth of the period of their continuous service after completing seven years of continuous service. That is to say, if your employee has completed seven years of continuous service, they are entitled to approximately six weeks of leave. This includes full-time, part-time, casual, and seasonal employees.
To calculate your employee’s leave entitlements in Victoria, you can use the following calculator.
Australian Capital Territory
In the ACT, employees are generally entitled to six weeks of long service leave after completing seven years of continuous service. This includes full-time, part-time and casual but not employees in the public sector. In addition to this, for every year that your employee works after their initial seven years, they should receive one-fifth of a month of long service leave.
To calculate your employee’s leave entitlements in the ACT, you can find the long service leave calculation guideline here.
Queensland
In Queensland, employees are generally entitled to approximately two months of long service leave after completing ten years of continuous service. This includes full-time, part-time, some casual employees and some seasonal employees in certain industries. In addition to this, for every five years that your employee works after their initial ten years, they have an entitlement to an additional four weeks of long service leave.
You should note that an employee who has completed between seven and ten years of continuous service may have an entitlement to pro-rata long service leave if they:
- resign as a result of an illness, incapacity or domestic matter; or
- you dismissed them for reasons other than your employee’s conduct, capacity or performance.
To calculate your employee’s leave entitlements in Queensland, you can use the following calculator.
South Australia
In South Australia, employees generally have an entitlement to thirteen weeks of long service leave after completing ten years of continuous service. In addition to this, for every year of service after their initial ten years, they should receive an additional 1.3 weeks of long service leave.
You should note that an employee who has completed between seven and ten years of continuous service may receive pro-rata long service leave if they:
- resign and give the correct notice; or
- you terminate their employment on any basis other than your employee’s serious and wilful misconduct.
To calculate your employee’s leave entitlements in South Australia, you can use the following calculator.
Northern Territory
In the Northern Territory, employees generally have an entitlement to thirteen weeks of long service leave after completing ten years of continuous service. This includes full-time, part-time and casual employees but does not include government employees and construction workers under the NT Build portable long service leave scheme.
In addition to this, for every year of service after their initial ten years, they should receive an additional 1.3 weeks of long service leave. They can only take this leave after an additional five years of service.
You should note that an employee who has completed between seven and ten years of continuous service may have an entitlement to pro-rata long service leave if their employment terminates as a result of:
- retirement;
- illness, incapacity or a domestic matter; or
- any matter other than serious misconduct.
Western Australia
In Western Australia, employees generally receive two months of long service leave after completing ten years of continuous service. This includes full-time, part-time and casual employees. In addition to this, for every five years that your employee works after their initial ten years, you should provide them with an additional four and one-third weeks of long service leave.
You should note that an employee who has completed between seven and ten years of continuous service may have an entitlement to pro-rata long service leave if their employment terminates as a result of:
- their death; or
- for any reason other than serious misconduct.
To calculate your employee’s leave entitlements in Western Australia, you can use the following calculator.
Tasmania
In Tasmania, employees generally have an entitlement to eight and two-thirds of a week of long service leave after completing ten years of continuous service. This includes full-time, part-time and casual employees. In addition to this, for every five years that your employee works after their initial ten years, you may owe them an additional four and one-third weeks of long service leave.
You should note that an employee who has completed between seven and ten years of continuous service may have an entitlement to pro-rata long service leave if their employment terminates as a result of:
- retirement;
- death;
- illness, incapacity or a domestic matter; or
- for any reason other than serious misconduct.
To calculate your employee’s leave entitlements in Tasmania, you can find further information here.
Key Takeaways
Your employee’s long service leave entitlements will depend on the laws in the state or territory that they work in. These laws provide:
- the leave payments that you owe your employees; and
- how long your employees must work for you to receive long service leave entitlements.
If you need help calculating your employee’s leave entitlements, our experienced employment lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 1300 544 755 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
In certain states and territories, laws exist to provide employees in specific industries with the benefit of portable long service leave. This means that employees can accumulate long service leave entitlements while working for different employers in the same industry. For instance, in the Northern Territory, a portable long service leave program is available for construction workers.
The possibility of cashing out your long service leave depends on the laws of your state or territory. For instance, in NSW, employees generally cannot cash out their long service leave. However, in Queensland, your employees may cash out their leave if their relevant award permits it.
We appreciate your feedback – your submission has been successfully received.
