A worker who has completed 10 years of service is entitled to 13 weeks long service leave. A further 1.3 weeks leave (9.1 calendar days) is granted for each completed year of service thereafter.

To work out your entitlement you will need to know:

  • your employment start date
  • your projected long service leave date or termination date
  • any periods of leave without pay
  • any periods of long service leave already taken
  • any absences due to a work related injury.

Remember to deduct any service that does not count towards long service leave. For example, if you took 3 weeks unpaid leave (excluding sick leave) during the 10 years of service, you would need to work 10 years and 3 weeks before being eligible for your full long service leave entitlement.

A worker is eligible for a pro-rata payment if they leave their employment between 7 and 10 years.

Full-time calculation

If you have been employed continuously on a full-time basis for at least the previous 3 years, the calculation is simple.

13 weeks  @  current ‘ordinary weekly rate of pay’

‘Ordinary weekly rate of pay’ means your weekly wage at the time of taking long service leave (or receiving a monetary payment) excluding penalty rates and overtime. If you are acting in a higher paying position when you take leave your 'ordinary weekly rate of pay' is the new higher rate.

Example

Bethany works as the finance officer at the local health clinic. Her office manager, Lucy, has just advised that she will be off work for at least the next 3 months due to illness. Bethany has accepted a short contract to act in Lucy's position as office manager whilst Lucy is absent. Bethany already had 1 week of long service leave booked for next month.

Whilst on long service leave next month, Bethany will be entitled to be paid at the higher (office manager) rate of pay as this will constitute her ordinary weekly rate of pay at the date her long service leave commences.

If you need assistance to calculate your long service leave, download our Long Service Leave calculation form for full-time workers. The calculations in this worksheet should be used as a guide only. Your employer is required to keep accurate records of your entitlements.

Allowances

Long service leave is primarily concerned with remuneration for hours worked and payment is based on 'ordinary rate of pay' which excludes penalty rates, overtime and shift premiums. However, the Long Service Leave Act does not specifically mention allowances.

Allowances are generally paid to compensate a worker for expenses or other circumstances incurred for work purposes or in the course of their work, such as a uniform laundry allowance, locality allowance or a car allowance where the worker’s personal vehicle is used for work purposes.

As work-related expenses are not incurred whilst a worker is on leave, it is unlikely that an allowance needs to be paid.

If there is an allowance that you believe should be calculated as part of your 'ordinary rate of pay' please complete our long service leave form to receive a determination by one of our Inspectors.


Questions about your long service leave?

If you have read all the long service leave information on our website and you still have questions or concerns about your entitlements, please follow the below options.

For employees and employers: If you have further questions about long service leave, please contact our Help Centre by calling 1300 365 255 or emailing help.safework@sa.gov.au

For employees only: If you are a worker and are in a disagreement with your employer regarding long service leave, please submit a Long Service Leave claim form.

Page last updated: 22 April 2022