Payment of long service leave
How much an employee is paid for long service leave depends on where they get their entitlement.
On this page:
- Pay rates for long service leave
- Payment of long service leave at the end of employment
- Related information
Pay rates for long service leave
In most cases, long service leave is paid at the employee's ordinary pay rate. The ordinary pay rate is the employee's base pay rate for their usual hours of work and doesn't include:
- allowances
- shift loadings
- penalties
- overtime.
To find out how long service leave is paid in your state or territory, visit our Long service leave page for a list of relevant departments.
Payment of long service leave at the end of employment
Any unused long service leave has to be paid out at the end of employment.
Long service leave usually can't be cashed out while the employee is still working for the business.
Payment of pro-rata long service leave
When employment ends before an employee has worked the total number of years needed to get the full long service leave entitlement, they can sometimes get paid out part of their long service leave. This is known as pro-rata long service leave.
Whether an employee gets paid out pro-rata long service leave when their employment ends depends on the long service laws in the state or territory they work in.
