Work out leave built up each pay period
Industrial Relations Act 2016 (Qld)How leave builds up in Queensland
Under the Industrial Relations Act 2016 (Qld), an employee gets 8.67 weeks of long service leave after 10 years of continuous service. That works out to 0.8667 weeks for each year, or 32.93 hours a year for someone working 38 hours a week.
The leave is not owed until the employee reaches 10 years (or 7 years, pro rata, for some reasons when the job ends). Until then, the balance shown on a payslip is a record, not an amount that can be taken.
Worked example: full-time in Queensland
An employee works 38 ordinary hours a week, earns $1,500 a week and is paid fortnightly. This is what the calculator above shows for Queensland:
- RateQueensland: 8.67 weeks after 10 years, which works out to 0.8667 weeks for each year of service (Industrial Relations Act 2016 (Qld)).
- Per fortnight0.8667 weeks ÷ 52 × 2 = 0.03333 weeks of leave a fortnight.
- In hours0.03333 × 38 hours a week = 1.2667 hours a fortnight. That is 1.000 minutes for every hour worked.
- Value0.03333 weeks × $1,500.00 a week = $50.00 a fortnight, or $1,300.01 a year.
| Period | Leave built up | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Each fortnight | 1.27 hours | $50.00 |
| Each year | 32.93 hours | $1,300.01 |
When leave stops building up in Queensland
Accrual follows service. Some absences pause it without breaking your service; others count in full.
| Absence | What happens | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Unpaid leave | In Queensland, unpaid leave approved by your employer does not break your service but is not counted, so your anniversary dates move back. | s 134(3)(b) |
| Unpaid parental leave | In Queensland, unpaid parental leave does not break your service but is not counted, so your anniversary dates move back. | s 134(3)(b) |
| Illness or injury | In Queensland, unpaid leave for illness or injury approved by your employer does not break your service but is not counted. | s 134(3), s 134(3)(b), s 134(4) |
| Stand-down | In Queensland, an interruption or termination for slackness of trade does not break your service if you are re-employed, but the gap is not counted. | s 134(7), s 134(9) |
See the Queensland long service leave calculator for the full entitlement on leaving.
Common questions
How many hours of long service leave do you get per hour worked?
In the states that give 8.67 weeks after 10 years, leave builds up at about 0.8667 weeks for each year, which is 0.01667 hours for every hour worked (about 1 minute). In SA and the NT, which give 13 weeks after 10 years, it is 1.3 weeks a year, or 0.025 hours per hour worked.
Is long service leave owed from the first year?
No. In every state the leave is only owed once you reach the qualifying period (7 or 10 years, or earlier pro rata for some reasons). Payroll systems still track it from the start so the balance and the employer provision are ready.
Official sources
- Industrial Relations Act 2016 - Chapter 2, Part 3, Division 9 (Long service leave), ss 93-114
- Office of Industrial Relations
Rules last reviewed 3 November 2026. Every figure comes from the Acts, the regulators, the ATO and the AASB; see sources and method.