Rights & Responsibilities

All employees working in New South Wales are entitled to long service leave under the NSW Long Service Leave Act 1955 (the Act) unless they fall into one of the categories listed below. This includes full-time, part-time and casual employees, after working for a continuous period of ten years for an employer.

An employee will be covered unless:

• they are covered by a federal award or agreement containing its own long service leave provisions 
• their long service leave provisions in an award or agreement are made under NSW industrial laws are more favourable than those provided in the Act
• they are covered by long service leave provisions in any another Act
• they are woking for an employer exempted by the NSW Industrial Relations Commission from having to provide long service leave

To qualify for long service leave there needs to be continuous service with an employer, even if the employee's duties or position is changed during that time.

Continuous service is also achieved if:

•   the employee is transferred between companies within the same group

•   the business is sold and the employee continues to work for the new owner running the same business.

Employer-approved absences from work do not break the continuty of an employee's service.

However, some absences, such as parental leave, are not counted as time worked. These absences are not included in an employee's period of service when calculating long service leave.

Long service leave pay is based on whichever is the highest rate:  

•   the employee's ordinary pay for the last pay period prior to the leave being taken

•   the average weekly ordinary rate of pay earned during the previous 5 years.

Shiftwork, other penalty rates and overtime payments are not included.

In addition, bonuses and commissions received by the employee are averaged over the previous 12 months (or averaged over the previous 5 years if the 5 year average pay rate is used) and added to the weekly rate used to calculate the leave payment. However, bonuses paid to workers who are otherwise paid in excess of $144,000 annually are not included.

The Act makes other provisions for workers who work as piece workers or commission only workers.

Before taking long service leave, the employee may, with the agreement of the employer, be paid in full for the leave or at their ordinary pay rate at their normal regular pay intervals during their long service leave.

After ten years of continuous service, the employee is entitled to receive a payment calculated in accordance with any long service leave entitlement, or on a pro rata basis where an entitlement exists after five years but less than ten years service.

An employer is required to grant long service leave as soon as practicable, taking into account the needs of the business.

The employer must give their employee one month's notice of the commencement date of the long service leave. If both the employer and employee agree, long service leave may be postponed to a mutually convenient date.

•   Office of Industrial Relations

    Ph: 131 628 (local call charge in NSW)     

    TTY: 1800 555 677

•   your employer association or union