State guide
Long service leave Queensland: 8.6667 weeks at 10 years
Updated
Queensland sits between the other two: a 7 year pro-rata door like Victoria, but a 10 year milestone for taking leave like New South Wales.
The entitlement
Business Queensland states that employees are entitled to take 8.6667 weeks of paid long service leave after 10 years' continuous service, and a further 4.3333 weeks once they have completed another 5 years, giving 13 weeks at 15 years. Beyond that point, access to further leave accrued is not subject to a qualifying period (Business Queensland).
| Period of continuous service | Entitlement |
|---|---|
| Less than 7 years | No entitlement |
| 7 but less than 10 years | Possible pro-rata payment on termination |
| 10 years | 8.6667 weeks |
| After a further 5 years | A further 4.3333 weeks, 13 weeks in total |
| More than 15 years | Leave can be accessed as it accrues |
The 7 to 10 year window
Between 7 and 10 years, Business Queensland says a pro-rata payment on termination applies only if the primary reason for the termination is one of these: the employee's death; the employee terminating because of illness (which includes injury, incapacity or other medical condition) or because of a domestic or other pressing necessity; the employer dismissing the employee because of that illness; the employer dismissing for a reason other than the employee's conduct, capacity or performance; or an unfair dismissal.
At 10 years or more the entitlement to payment on termination is automatic and not subject to those criteria, and is worked out on the full period of continuous service. Business Queensland's own example: an employee with 12 years' service is entitled to a payment of 10.4 weeks, being 8.6667 plus 1.73333 weeks. The calculator on this page returns the same figure.
Casual and part-time employees
The qualifying period is the same, but the entitlement is calculated in hours rather than weeks:
- Add up the total ordinary hours worked over the whole period of continuous service.
- Divide by 52, multiply by 8.6667, then divide by 10. Business Queensland gives the formula as: total ordinary hours worked divided by 52, times 8.6667, divided by 10.
- Multiply the resulting hours by the employee's ordinary hourly rate. A casual is paid at their loaded casual hourly rate.
Business Queensland's worked example: 15,600 ordinary hours over 10 years gives 260.001 hours of long service leave, which by agreement can be taken as 6.8421 weeks on a 38 hour full-time equivalent week.
Continuity and records
- For casuals, continuous service may end if employment is broken by more than 3 months between the end of one contract and the start of the next.
- Employers must record the total ordinary hours worked by each casual from the start of service, to and including 30 June each year, and keep the record for 6 years after termination.
- On service performed outside Queensland, the Court of Appeal in Infosys Technologies Limited v Fox [2025] QCA 45 held that no substantial connection test applies: it is enough that there has been service partly in the State, and that service need not be a substantial proportion of the total.
Long service leave in Queensland is paid at the ordinary rate, excluding overtime, being paid at the time the leave is taken; where an employee is paid above the award rate, the leave is paid at the higher rate.