Under five years: no long service leave is payable on redundancy (s 4(2)(a)(iii)).
Five to ten years: you are paid pro rata on the basis of 8.67 weeks for ten years of service, about 0.87 weeks per year, including part years (s 4(2)(a)(iii)). NSW Industrial Relations gives the example of Dean, a part-time worker whose store closed after five years and six months. He was paid 4.76 weeks.
Ten years or more: you are paid any untaken leave plus a proportionate amount for your service since your last entitlement (s 4(2)(a)(i)(C), s 4(2)(a)(ii)).
Your employer must pay you as soon as your employment ends (s 4(5)(a)). The payment is at your ordinary pay, using the higher of the 12-month or five-year averages where your hours or pay vary (s 3(1), s 3(2A)).
If the business is sold and the new owner keeps you on, that is not the end of your service. Your service with the old owner counts with the new owner, who takes on the whole long service leave liability (s 4(11)(c)). The same applies if you move to a related corporation within two months (s 4(13)(b)-(c)).
If your employer ends your employment and re-employs you within two months, your service is not broken, but the gap does not count (s 4(11)(a1)(vii)). A stand down for slackness of trade is treated the same way (s 4(11)(a1)(v)). Any long service leave you took in advance and had not yet earned can be deducted from your final pay (s 4(5)(c)).
Common questions
Is long service leave paid on redundancy in NSW?
Yes, if you have at least five years of service. Between five and ten years you get pro rata, and after ten years you get your full entitlement (s 4(2)(a)).
When must my employer pay long service leave after a redundancy?
As soon as your employment ends (s 4(5)(a)).
My employer sold the business. Do I lose my long service leave?
No. If the new owner employs you, your earlier service counts with them and they carry the long service leave liability. The sale contract cannot exclude this (s 4(11)(c)).
Official sources
- Long Service Leave Act 1955 No 38NSW Parliamentary Counsel's Office
- Long Service Leave Regulation 2026NSW Parliamentary Counsel's Office
- Long service leaveNSW Industrial Relations
Rules last reviewed 3 November 2026.