Are you entitled to long service leave and how do you access it? (2024)

Are you entitled to long service leave you don't know about? If you've been working for the same employer for 10 years or more, the answer is likely to be yes.

Long service leave rewards long-serving employees with an extended period of paid time-off — typically between two and three months — and kicks in between seven and 10 years, with the exact details determined by the state or territory.

Long service leave has been in the news recently with several large corporations, including Woolworths and the Commonwealth Bank, receiving hefty fines for failing to correctly pay employees their entitlements.

What are my long service entitlements?

Most long-serving employees are entitled for long service leave. They vary between jurisdictions, but according to the Fair Work Ombudsman, long service leave forms part of the National Employment Standards (NES), which are the minimum employment entitlements that have to be provided to all employees.

As Griffith University Business School lecturer Ben French explains, "most employers and employees are covered under the state system for long service, and it will therefore depend on the state [legislation] when it kicks in".

"In Queensland, for example, you're entitled to 8.6667 weeks of long service after 10 years of continuing service," Dr French says.

Casual and permanent part-time workers are also entitled to long service leave, which is calculated at a pro-rata rate, and small businesses are also required to pay long service leave to employees.

"It's a legislative right and it applies to most full-time, part-time and even casual employees and [casual workers], I'd say, is the one in particular that people aren't aware about," Dr French says.

Importantly, Dr French's calculations for casual workers' long service leave should also include casual loading.

"Most casuals get 25 per cent loading because they don't get holidays and personal leave," Dr French says.

Commonwealth public servants with 10 years' continual service are entitled to three
calendar months of long serviced leave, or pro rata for part-time employees, and state public servants, including teachers, often keep their long service entitlements when changing workplaces, but this depends in the jurisdiction.

According to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, only one in six Australians are likely to remain with the same employer for 10 years or more.

With this in mind, some Australian states and territories have introduced legislation to provide workers in industries such as security, community services, building and construction, mining and contract cleaning with access to portable long service leave, which is funded by a small levy.

Whose obligation is it to keep track of long service leave entitlements?

Long service leave entitlements are calculated from the anniversary of your start date. It continues to accrue while you are on annual leave and your eligibility may shift if you've taken a period of unpaid leave, or change your working arrangement.

Dr French says employers are responsible for granting a worker the entitlements that apply to the state or territory they are working in.

"Australia is well known for probably having the most complex industrial relations system in the world, but it's very clear the responsibility is on the employer for correctly calculating and providing the long service entitlements," Dr French says.

Despite recent instances of large corporations being fined for not paying adequate long service leave entitlements, Dr French says the convolution of the legislation is not a valid excuse.

"It's challenging because the legislation is piecemeal across the states," he says. "But at the same time, I don't think there's any excuse for these big companies getting it wrong.

"They should be well aware; they should have better systems in place."

Can you 'cash out' your long service leave?

According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, long service leave "usually can't be cashed out while the employee is still working for the business".

However, under the Western Australia Long Service Leave Act, "an employer and employee are able to agree to cash out some or all of an employee's long service leave once the employee has fully accrued a long service leave entitlement".

Similarly, under Queensland law, if you have an entitlement to long service leave and "are experiencing financial hardship, or you require extra funds due to unforeseen personal, family or other circ*mstances", you may be able to have part or all of your leave paid out.

In most jurisdictions, if an employee has accrued their full long service leave entitlement and they leave a business, they will be paid out their long service leave.

If a worker is made redundant and has completed at least seven years of service, they will be paid a pro-rata entitlement for their long service in many jurisdictions, and some states and territories will pay a portion of entitlements if a worker voluntarily leaves the business after seven years.

"Again, that will depend on the jurisdiction, however, it's going to depend on employer policies and the relevant legislation or enterprise agreement," Dr French says.