What am I entitled to?

When you get a job, you are entitled to a range of entitlements (or employment conditions), depending on whether you work full-time, part-time, temporary or casual basis. Most employees (except casuals) are entitled to:

  • four weeks paid annual holidays (annual leave) each year
  • a minimum of five days of sick leave each year (which can be used when you are too ill to work and, under some awards, when you need to care for sick family members.
  • parental leave – usually unpaid leave available if you become a parent or adopt a child (this may apply also to some casual workers)
  • two months of paid long service leave after 10 years of service (this may also apply to some casual workers).

Generally, if you work part-time you should receive all the full-time entitlements but on a pro-rata or proportional basis. 

 

For example, if you work three days a week, you should receive three-fifths of the entitlements of a full-time employee.

 

Casual workers receive additional payments, called loadings, instead of sick leave and for holiday pay.

 

Understand the jargon!

 

Hours of work

 

Generally full-time employees work 38 hours a week. Part-timers work a regular number of hours and days each week but fewer hours than full-time workers. Casuals are employed on an hourly or daily basis.

 

Hourly rates of pay

 

Hourly rates of pay are specific in awards or agreements for each job classification as the lowest allowable rate payable per hour. They may include allowances and loadings. Rates vary for full-time and casual employees.

 

An employer can pay you above the award rate – but not below!

 

Ordinary hours

 

The hours set out in an award or agreement that an employee works each day or week which are paid at normal hourly rates.

 

Spread of ordinary hours

 

Defines when ordinary hours apply. For example, a spread of ordinary hours could be between 6.00 am and 6.00 pm, Monday to Friday. This means that an employee working within this timeframe is paid at the ordinary hourly rate of pay.

 

Overtime rates apply to work taken outside the timeframe.

 

Overtime

 

Work performed in addition to ordinary hours and must be paid at the overtime rates of pay specified in the award or agreement.

 

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