Annual leave, sick leave and public holidays

Annual leave

After at least 3 months with the same employer, you are entitled to:

• 7 days of paid annual leave for the first 12 months of continuous service
• One additional day for every further 12 months of continuous service
• A maximum of 14 days of paid annual leave

Employment Act s 88A(1)

If you have served at least 3 months but have not completed 12 months of continuous service in any year, you are entitled to annual leave in proportion to the number of completed months of service in that year.

Employment Act s 88A(2)

You forfeit your annual leave entitlement if you are absent from work without your employer's permission, or without reasonable excuse, for more than 20% of the working days in the period in which the entitlement accrues.

Employment Act s 88A(5)

Your employer must pay you your gross rate of pay for every day of paid annual leave.

Employment Act s 88A(7)

If you are dismissed on any ground other than misconduct before you have taken all of your paid annual leave, your employer must pay you your gross rate of pay for every day of that leave not taken.

Employment Act s 88A(8)

Sick leave

After examination by a medical practitioner, you are entitled to the paid sick leave the practitioner certifies, up to these totals in each year:

• After 3 months' service: 5 days, or if hospitalisation is necessary, the lesser of 15 days and 5 days plus the days you are hospitalised
• After 4 months' service: 8 days, or if hospitalisation is necessary, the lesser of 30 days and 8 days plus the days you are hospitalised
• After 5 months' service: 11 days, or if hospitalisation is necessary, the lesser of 45 days and 11 days plus the days you are hospitalised
• After 6 months' service: 14 days, or if hospitalisation is necessary, the lesser of 60 days and 14 days plus the days you are hospitalised

Employment Act s 89(1)

You are taken to be absent without permission and without reasonable excuse on the days of sick leave that is not certified by a medical practitioner, or that is certified by a medical practitioner your employer did not appoint if you did not inform or try to inform your employer within 48 hours after it began.

Employment Act s 89(4)

Your employer must pay you for every day of that sick leave at your gross rate of pay, leaving out any shift work allowance when no hospitalisation is necessary.

Employment Act s 89(5)

Public holidays

Subject to the conditions in section 88(1), you are entitled to a paid holiday at your gross rate of pay on a public holiday that falls while you are employed. You and your employer may agree to substitute another day for it. If it falls on a day you are not required to work under your contract of service, your employer may either pay you for it at your gross rate of pay or give you a day off in substitution. If a public holiday falls on a rest day, the next working day is a paid holiday.

Employment Act s 88(1)

You are not entitled to holiday pay for a public holiday, or a day substituted for it, if you are absent on the working day immediately before or after it without your employer's prior consent or without reasonable excuse.

Employment Act s 88(3)

Subject to the exception for Government and statutory-body employees in the essential services, if you are a workman mentioned in section 35(a), or an employee to whom Part 4 applies by virtue of section 35(b), and your employer requires you to work on a public holiday, you must be paid an extra day's salary at the basic rate of pay for one day's work, in addition to your gross rate of pay for that day.

Employment Act s 88(4)