Long service leave calculator

Yes. Casual employees are covered in each state and territory as long as their employment is continuous, but what counts as continuous differs. In Victoria a casual's employment is deemed continuous while there is no absence of more than 12 weeks between any two instances of employment (Workforce Inspectorate Victoria). In Queensland all continuous service of a casual counts, it can end if the employment is broken by more than 3 months between contracts, and a casual is paid at their loaded casual hourly rate (Business Queensland). In New South Wales a casual needs a series or pattern of work that gives rise to an ongoing employment relationship (NSW Government). Western Australia covers full time, part time, casual and seasonal employees (WA Government).

Part-time employees earn long service leave at the same rate as full-time employees, but the leave is worth your ordinary hours. At 38 ordinary hours a week, 8.6667 weeks is 329.33 hours; at 20 hours a week it is 173.33 hours. Queensland works part-time and casual leave out from total ordinary hours: total ordinary hours worked / 52 x 8.6667 / 10 (Business Queensland). In the ACT, pay for a part-time or casual employee uses the average weekly hours worked in the 12 months before they became entitled (Long Service Leave Act 1976, section 7). Enter your usual ordinary hours in the calculator to see the hours; if your hours changed, ask your payroll team how your state averages them.

Sometimes, by agreement. In New South Wales long service leave may be taken in advance where the employer and worker agree, and it is subtracted from what the worker later accrues (NSW Government). In Western Australia an employee who takes leave in advance gets no further long service leave until they have accrued back the amount, and the employer may deduct the unaccrued amount from final pay (WA Government). In South Australia the employer and worker may agree to leave in anticipation of the entitlement accruing, and if service ends first the employer may deduct the difference from termination pay (Long Service Leave Act 1987, section 7). Other jurisdictions have their own rules, so check with the regulator before you rely on it.

Usually not while you are still employed. In New South Wales it is an offence to give or receive payment for long service leave instead of taking the leave, and payment is made when employment ends (NSW Government). In Victoria it is in most circumstances an offence to give or receive payment instead of taking the break, with exceptions such as where employment has ended (Workforce Inspectorate Victoria). In Queensland leave can be cashed in only if an award or agreement allows it, or the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission orders it on compassionate or financial hardship grounds (Business Queensland). South Australia allows part or all of an accrued entitlement to be paid out under a signed written agreement (Long Service Leave Act 1987, section 5(1a)). In the Northern Territory an employer must not pay, and an employee must not accept, an amount in lieu except as the Act provides (Long Service Leave Act 1981, section 10(4)).

Yes. In some industries long service leave follows you between employers and is paid from an industry fund instead of by your last employer. Queensland's QLeave runs schemes for building and construction, contract cleaning, and social and community services. Victoria has portable arrangements under the Long Service Benefits Portability Act 2018, and workers covered by the Construction Industry Long Service Leave Act 1997 (Vic) are outside the general Victorian Act (Workforce Inspectorate Victoria). The ACT has the Long Service Leave (Portable Schemes) Act 2009 (ACT Legislation Register). If you work in construction, cleaning, security or community services, check whether your industry has a scheme before using a single-employer calculator like this one.

The state and territory Acts differ, and there is no single national rule, so you cannot simply add service under one Act to service under another (the Fair Work Act 2009 leaves state and territory long service leave laws in place). Moving to a new employer starts a new period unless the business was sold or transferred: in Victoria and Queensland your years of service carry over to the new owner in that case. If you stay with the same employer, which Act applies depends on where you work. South Australia's Act covers service in South Australia, and service outside it where you are predominantly employed in South Australia, and it lets you elect one entitlement where a corresponding law also applies (Long Service Leave Act 1987, section 4). In the ACT, time temporarily outside the ACT still counts as service (Long Service Leave Act 1976, section 2). Ask your employer or the regulator which Act applies to you.

It depends on the state. In New South Wales and Western Australia, a public holiday you would ordinarily be paid for during your leave extends the leave by one day (NSW Government, WA Government), and the ACT's Act says the leave is increased by 1 day for each public holiday or award holiday (Long Service Leave Act 1976, section 9). In Queensland, long service leave is exclusive of public holidays, so a public holiday on a day you ordinarily work is added to the leave (Business Queensland). Tasmania's Act says long service leave is not inclusive of public holidays (Long Service Leave Act 1976, section 12(9)). In South Australia every day after the leave starts, including public holidays, counts as a day of leave (Long Service Leave Act 1987, section 7(7)), and in the Northern Territory a public holiday is deemed part of the leave and does not extend it (Long Service Leave Act 1981, section 9). For Victoria, check the Workforce Inspectorate's guide.

It is 2 months of leave. A month is 52 / 12 = 4.3333 weeks, so 2 months is 8.6667 weeks, written as 8 2/3 weeks in the Western Australian and Tasmanian Acts. It is the same as 10 years x 52 weeks / 60: Victoria gives one week of leave for every 60 weeks of continuous service, about 0.8667 of a week a year, which is 6.0667 weeks at 7 years and 8.6667 at 10. The ACT gives 1/5 of a month for each year of service, also 0.8667 weeks a year, so 6.9333 weeks at 8 years. In New South Wales, Western Australia and Tasmania each further 5 years adds 1 month, or 4.3333 weeks. South Australia and the Northern Territory use 13 weeks for 10 years, which is 1.3 weeks a year.