Annual Leave

Long Service Leave

Personal leave:

Sick Leave
Carer's Leave
Bereavement Leave

ANNUAL LEAVE
Most employees are entitled to four weeks paid annual leave after each 12 months work. Most employees are additionally entitled to 17.5% annual leave loading.

A casual employee's hourly rate includes an amount in lieu of paid annual leave.

Persons working under the Victorian Minimum Wage Orders do not get the 17.5% leave loading.

LONG SERVICE LEAVE
Different provisions apply in each state and territory. Generally, long service leave accrues each year and after an employee reaches the qualifying period, he or she entitled to take paid leave.

A common standard is 13 weeks leave after 15 years service, with pro rata availability after ten years service with the one employer. In NSW it is two months after ten years, with pro rata entitlement after five years. In SA its 13 weeks after 10 years.

In the building industry, service with the industry is counted, so employees must be registered with the relevant Long Service Leave board in their state. Similar provisions apply to contract cleaning in some states and territories.

Information about the different provisions in each state and territory can be found at the following links:

New South Wales

Victoria

Queensland

South Australia

Western Australia

Tasmania

ACT

NT

PERSONAL LEAVE
Personal Leave includes Sick Leave, Carer's Leave and Bereavement Leave

The amount of Personal Leave will vary according to how your employment is regulated.

Workers paid under a Federal Award will usually get eight - ten days Personal Leave per year, to be used if they are sick, bereaved or must care for someone else in their family/household who is sick.

In Victoria workers paid under the Minimum Wage Orders get eight days per year for personal sickness or injury of which five days can be taken as carer's leave.

The entitlement accumulates from year to year, usually to a maximum of ten years.

An employee will usually receive the same amount as would have been paid if he or she had worked ordinary hours that day.

Casual workers are not entitled to be paid Personal Leave as their hourly rate has already been loaded to include an amount in lieu of this leave.

SICK LEAVE
Most employees who are sick or injured and cannot work are entitled to be paid for a limited period. The employer must be informed as soon as possible (within 24 hours) if you are sick. In most cases, after using two days sick leave in any year the employee will be required to show proof of illness - a medical certificate (in some cases a Statutory Declaration may be accepted).

Note: Sick Leave is separate to Workcover or Workers' Compensation - see Workers' Compensation.

CARER'S LEAVE
An employee is entitled to use up to five days personal leave each year as carer’s leave to provide care and support for members of the employee's immediate family or household who are sick and require care and support.

BEREAVEMENT LEAVE
In most cases two days paid leave is available upon the death in Australia of an employee's immediate family member. This includes parent, child, grandparent, sibling, spouse and ex-spouse. In addition up to ten days unpaid leave may be granted. Paid leave is not available for more distant family members.