Where an employee fully accrues a long service leave entitlement after 20 June 2022, the absences that count towards continuous employment for long service leave accrual are:

• periods of paid annual leave
• periods of paid long service leave
• periods of paid personal leave, sick leave or carer's leave
• periods of parental leave for which the employee has received payment (whether from the employer or the Commonwealth Government under its parental leave pay scheme)
• periods of paid compassionate or bereavement leave
• periods of paid family and domestic violence leave
• any other form of leave provided as part of the employee’s employment, including leave authorised by their employer or provided in legislation or in an award, agreement or contract of employment, for which the employee has received payment
• paid public holidays
• any period following the termination of the employee by their employer irrespective of the duration, if this was done by the employer with the intent of avoiding their long service leave or annual leave obligations
• service with the Defence Forces, other than service as a permanent member of the Defence Forces, whether paid or unpaid – e.g. service with the Defence Force Reserves.

An employee’s period of employment with a previous owner of a business is also counted as part of their period of employment with the new owner where there has been a transfer or transmission of the business.

Where an employee fully accrued a long service leave entitlement prior to 20 June 2022, the absences that count towards continuous employment are listed in the Long service leave – Continuous employment pre June 2022 page.

Some absences do not count as part of an employee’s period of employment for long service leave, but will not break an employee’s continuity of employment.

Where an employee fully accrues a long service leave entitlement after 20 June 2022, the absences that do not count towards continuous employment for long service leave accrual are:

• periods of leave for which the employee has not received payment. For example, a period of unpaid carer’s leave or leave without pay
• any period between employment where the employer terminates an employee for a reason other than slackness of trade but then re-employs them within 2 months of the termination
• any period between employment where the employer terminates an employee due to slackness of trade but then re-employs them within 6 months of termination
• any period when the employee was stood down by their employer in accordance with an award, agreement, order or determination. Please note the situation may be different if a stand down was based on a JobKeeper enabling stand down direction. For information about the effect of JobKeeper enabling stand down directions, see the JobKeeper enabling stand down directions and long service leave entitlements page
• any period during a transfer or transmission of business where the employment of an employee of the old employer has terminated and the employee has not yet been employed by the new employer
• any absence arising directly or indirectly from an industrial dispute if the employee returned to work in accordance with the terms of settlement of the dispute
• any reasonable absence on legitimate union business for which the employee has requested, but been refused, leave
• other types of absences authorised by the employer which are not listed above.

Although these absences do not count as part of an employee’s period of employment for long service leave, they will not break an employee’s continuity of employment.

Where an employee fully accrued an entitlement to long service leave prior to 20 June 2022, the absences that do not count towards continuous employment for long service leave accrual are listed on the Long service leave – Continuous employment pre June 2022 page.

For information about the effect of JobKeeper enabling stand down directions on long service leave entitlements, see the JobKeeper enabling stand down directions and long service leave entitlements page.

This section provides information relevant to employees who have taken pandemic leave for which they have NOT received any payment, whether from the employer or the State or Federal Government. If an employee was on unpaid pandemic leave and received a payment such as the WA Government’s COVID-19 Test Isolation Payment or the Federal Government’s Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment, the period for which the employee received payment counts towards long service leave accrual.

State system employees

For employees in the state industrial relations system, information about the effect of unpaid pandemic leave on long service leave entitlements is available on the Unpaid pandemic leave page.

National system employees

For employees in the national industrial relations system who derive their long service leave entitlements from the Long Service Leave Act, any unpaid pandemic leave taken by the employee in accordance with the relevant provisions in a national modern award will not count towards the employee’s period of continuous employment for accruing long service leave, but will not break the employee’s continuous employment.

The  Long service leave – casual and seasonal employees page provides information about continuous employment for casual and seasonal employees

Fly in, fly out (FIFO) employees may work rosters where they perform work on some weeks (‘on weeks’) and do not perform work in other weeks (‘off weeks’). 

Off weeks will generally count towards continuous employment for long service leave accrual, as they are not a form of unpaid leave and the employee's employment has not ended.

However, whether a particular FIFO employee has completed the required period of continuous employment will always depend upon the circumstances of their employment.

When an apprentice or trainee completes an apprenticeship or traineeship with an employer and the employer continues to employ the apprentice or trainee once they are qualified, the apprentice or trainee’s period of employment as an apprentice or trainee counts as part of their period of continuous employment with that employer for long service leave accrual.

Sometimes there might be a gap between an employee completing their apprenticeship or traineeship with an employer and then being employed by that employer. If an employee enters into a contract of employment with an employer within 52 weeks of completing an apprenticeship or traineeship with that employer, the gap does not break the employee’s continuous employment. However, any gap between the completion of the employee’s apprenticeship or traineeship and the employment of the employee on a new contract of employment does not count towards the employee’s period of continuous employment for long service leave accrual.

Example

Carlos completes a mechanical apprenticeship with a vehicle repair business.  When Carlos completes his apprenticeship he ceases working for the employer, as the business cannot afford to keep him on.  However, 6 months later, the business has recovered financially, and it hires Carlos as a qualified mechanic.

As Carlos has entered into a contract of employment with his employer within 52 weeks of completing an apprenticeship with it, the period of the apprenticeship is taken to be part of his continuous employment.  However, the 6 month period where he was not working for the vehicle repair business does not count when calculating the length of his period of continuous employment.