Managing people comes with plenty of moving parts, and leave entitlements are one of the big ones. We regularly receive questions about employee leave entitlements, so here’s your clear, practical reference guide.

Understanding what your employees are entitled to, and how those entitlements work in practice, helps you stay compliant, support your team, and avoid costly headaches.

Personal Leave (Sick & Carer’s Leave)

Personal leave is one of the most commonly used entitlements, so accuracy matters.

What Employees Receive:

• 10 days per year for full-time employees
• Pro rata for part-time employees
• Accrues year to year
• Paid at the employee’s base rate of pay

Employees can use this leave when they’re unwell or when they need to care for an immediate family or household member. It is not paid out at the termination of employment.

In practice, it cannot be used to ‘attend to personal matters’ or because they ‘need a day off’. It is only to be used in the case of the employee being ill or injured and unable to attend work, or for the employee to care for an immediate family or household member because they are ill or injured and need onsite care. It cannot be used for childcare needs – unless the child is sick or injured.

Employers can request a medical certificate as evidence of the illness or injury and the medical certificate must satisfy a reasonable person of its validity. WE often write policies for our clients on use of personal leave where we include a rule that the client will not accept an automated certificate from an online platform – the employee must have had an in-person or telehealth consultation with an actual practitioner for a certificate to be valid.

Annual Leave

Annual leave supports employee wellbeing and productivity.

Entitlement:

• 20 days per year for full-time employees
• Pro rata for part-time employees
• Accrues progressively
• Unused leave is paid out on termination
• Paid at base rate (some awards include leave loading)

As an employer, you can manage when leave is taken but you must not unreasonably refuse a request. We recommend having an annual leave policy in place that clearly steps out any blackout periods (where you will not approve a period of leave), any notice periods required, any company shutdown periods where employees are required to use some of their annual leave, and importantly, that the business will not be responsible (financially or otherwise) if an employee makes travel plans prior to a period of leave being approved.

You can only direct an employee to take a period of annual leave (unless they agree) in line with the provisions to do so under the relevant Award or Fair Work Act. This usually means that you can only do so if they have for example, 8 weeks of accrued leave, and you must provide a period of notice for them to take the leave. We often get asked if the business can ‘make some of the team take some annual leave next week, because we don’t have any work on’. This is not allowed under the Fair Work Act and/or the Awards. 

Employees can now request to have part of their accrued annual leave ‘paid out’. Employers can also suggest paying out of some employee leave. It can only occur by mutual agreement and under certain circumstances, The Fair Work Act sets out the rules around when you and can’t do this… or speak to one of our team for assistance…

Family and Domestic Violence Leave (F&DV)

This leave is designed to support employees experiencing family or domestic violence.

Entitlement:

• 10 days per year, available to all employees (including casuals)
• Does not accrue; it resets annually
• Paid at the employee’s full rate of pay for the hours they would have worked

Confidentiality is critical.  Employers must handle these requests sensitively and securely and it is a legal requirement that F&DV Leave is listed on payslips as normal hours worked.

You have the right to request evidence of the need (and eligibility) for the leave, but please do so with sensitivity. F&DV Leave can only be used for certain things – it’s not a free for all. Events such as attending court, seeking counselling, looking for alternate housing and so forth, are all acceptable use of the paid time off.

Compassionate Leave

This applies when an immediate family or household member passes away or suffers a life‑threatening illness or injury.

Entitlement:

• 2 days per occasion
• Available to all employees, including casuals
• Paid for full‑time and part‑time employees

Compassionate leave applies only to eligible immediate family or household members and does not reduce any other accrued leave entitlement. If an employee requires more time off, you can approve leave of their accrued annual leave, long service leave or personal leave if you wish to.

Parental Leave

Parental leave is an area where employers often have questions.

Unpaid Parental Leave

Employees who have worked for you for at least 12 months are entitled to:

• 12 months unpaid parental leave, and
• The right to request an additional 12 months (you may refuse only on reasonable business grounds)

Government‑Funded Paid Parental Leave

Some employees may also be eligible for government payments through Services Australia.

This is separate from your obligations as an employer.

The Parental Leave legislation is fairly complex now, with options for employees to have ‘keeping in touch’ days, and up to 100 days of their parental leave taken flexibly. Returning employees also have the right to request flexibility in work, such as to return to work on a part time basis. Employers should consider all requests for flexible work fully and provide responses in writing. Business can only refuse such requests on reasonable business grounds. As of 2025, employees who do not like your response, may now challenge it in the Fair Work Commission.

Long Service Leave

Long service leave (LSL) varies by state and territory, so it’s important to check the rules relevant to your location.

In Victoria, the Long Service Leave Act 2018 applies.

Generally:

• Employees become eligible after 7 or 10 years of continuous service
• The amount of leave and accrual rules differ by jurisdiction

In Victoria:

• Employees can access LSL after 7 years
• Leave can be taken in small increments, even one day at a time
• Casual employees also accrue LSL

LSL cannot be 'paid out' except on employment termination.

Community Service Leave - Jury Duty

Leave must be provided when an employee is required to attend jury service.

Key points:

• Jury duty rules varies by state
• In Victoria, the entitlement is uncapped; employees can take as long as required
• Employers must provide leave for jury service – most states require employers to pay the difference between the employee’s usual pay and any payment their receive for being on jury duty.

In extenuating circumstances the business can request that the jury duty is postponed, by writing to the relevant court.

Make sure you understand your state’s specific obligations or contact us for advice.

Community Service Leave – Emergency Assist

This Community service leave provides leave for employees who wish to volunteer in a local emergency situation such as floods, fires, storms etc.

The leave is unlimited for eligible emergency activities and is unpaid, however, the employee can request to use their accrued annual leave or long service leave, and the employer can approve or not.

The employer cannot deny the leave request, however the leave only must be granted in situations where the emergency is in the employee’s local area. It is not a requirement for the employer to approve the leave for the employee to assist in a different area or in another state for example. The employer can choose to do so in these circumstances.

Leave Without Pay (LWOP)

There is no general entitlement to LWOP under the Fair Work Act. The only exception is when an employee is ill or injured and has exhausted their paid personal leave, LWOP must be granted in that case.

However:

• You may approve LWOP at your discretion
• Some enterprise agreements or internal policies may include LWOP provisions

We do recommend having a clear policy on the use of LWOP. Many employees today who seek work life balance, have a mindset that ‘Well, I want the time off, I’m not asking you to pay me’ and think because they want it as unpaid leave there’s no cost or issue to the business, when of course there is (especially in some industries).

Purchased Annual Leave (PAL)

Many employers choose to offer additional leave options to support work‑life balance.

Purchased Additional Leave (PAL)

This is a popular initiative where:

• Employees “purchase” extra leave (e.g., 1–4 weeks)
• Their salary is adjusted over the year to account for the additional time off
• It provides flexibility without increasing overall labour costs

Of course, if you wish to introduce an initiative like this, it does take some planning and absolutely requires rules. Speak to one of our team to help you develop this policy so it is clear from the get-go about how PAL works.

Final Thoughts

Understanding leave entitlements isn’t just about compliance. It’s about building a workplace where people feel supported, respected and are able to balance work with life’s ups and downs. The Fair Work Act 2009 sets the minimum standards, but many employers choose to go further.

At HR Staff n’ Stuff we are always here to help you with questions around leave entitlements, and we encourage you to have a robust set of leave policies in place so that you, and your people, understand the rule

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