When an employee with at least 7 but less than 10 years of continuous employment is terminated, they are entitled to pro rata long service leave on the basis of 8^2/3 (8.667) weeks for 10 years of continuous employment.

This entitlement:

• is calculated on the employee’s entire period of employment; that is, years, months, weeks and days
• applies to employees who resign, are made redundant, die or whose employer has terminated them for any reason other than serious misconduct
• does not apply to an employee whose employer has terminated them for serious misconduct.

Full entitlement – 10 years or more of continuous employment

An employee whose employment is terminated for any reason is entitled to:

• 8^2/3 (8.667) weeks of leave if they have completed 10 years of continuous employment
• an additional 4^1/3 (4.333) weeks of leave for each subsequent 5 years after the initial 10 years of continuous employment.

Pro rata entitlement – more than 10 years of continuous employment

When the employment of an employee with more than 10 years but less than 15 years of continuous employment is terminated, they are entitled to pro rata leave.

This entitlement:

• is calculated on the basis of 8^2/3 weeks for 10 years of continuous employment for each year of employment since they completed 10 years of continuous employment
• is calculated on completed years of employment only; that is, it does not include months, weeks or days
• does not apply to an employee whose employer has terminated them for serious misconduct.

When the employment of an employee with more than 15 years but less than 20 years of continuous employment is terminated, they are entitled to pro rata leave.

This entitlement:

• is calculated on the basis of 8^2/3 weeks for 10 years of continuous employment for each year of employment since they completed 15 years of continuous employment
• is calculated on completed years of employment only; that is, it does not include months, weeks or days
• does not apply to an employee whose employer has terminated them for serious misconduct.

When the employment of an employee with more than 20 years but less than 25 years of continuous employment is terminated, they are entitled to pro rata leave.

This entitlement:

• is calculated on the basis of 8^2/3 weeks for 10 years of continuous employment for each year of employment since they completed 20 years of continuous employment
• is calculated on completed years of employment only; that is, it does not include months, weeks or days
• does not apply to an employee whose employer has terminated them for serious misconduct.

This pro rata entitlement (calculated on the on the basis of 8^2/3 weeks for 10 years of continuous employment) will also apply to each year of employment since an employee completed 25, 30, 35 years etc. of employment.

Wageline's Long service leave calculation guide can help determine an employee's long service leave entitlement.

Serious misconduct is unacceptable or improper behaviour of a substantial nature. The onus is on the employer to prove that dismissal for serious misconduct was warranted.

Determining whether an employer has justifiably dismissed an employee for serious misconduct is always assessed according to the facts particular to that situation.