In Tasmania you get 8.67 weeks (8 2/3 weeks) of long service leave after 10 years of continuous employment, then 4.33 weeks for each further 5 years (s 8(2)(a)). If your job ends after 7 to 10 years, you are paid a pro-rata amount only for certain reasons, and an ordinary resignation is not one of them (s 8(3)). Mining employees have separate rules (s 8A).
How much leave you get
You become entitled to 8 2/3 weeks (8.67 weeks) of long service leave after 10 years of continuous employment with the same employer (s 8(2)(a)).
After that, you earn a further 4 1/3 weeks (4.33 weeks) for each additional 5 years of continuous employment (s 8(2)(a)).
When your job ends after 10 years, you are also paid for the time since your last 5-year block, including part years. The extra amount is the share of 8 2/3 weeks that those years bear to 10 years (s 8(2)(a)(iii)). In practice this is about 0.87 weeks per year of service.
WorkSafe Tasmania's example: an employee with 13 years, 6 months and 14 days of service (13.5383 years) is paid 13.5383 x 0.8667 = 11.73 weeks when they leave.
These figures do not apply to mining employees. If you work in, at or about a metalliferous mine, you get 13 weeks for every 10 years instead (s 8A(2)).
When you leave
With less than 7 years, you get no long service leave payment under the Act (s 8(2)(b)).
From 7 to under 10 years, you are paid a pro-rata amount only if your job ends for one of the reasons listed in the Act (s 8(3)). The amount is your years of service, including part years, divided by 10, multiplied by 8 2/3 weeks (s 8(2)(b)). WorkSafe Tasmania's example: an employee with 9 years who resigned because of ill health was paid 9 x 0.8667 = 7.80 weeks.
The listed reasons are: you reach retirement age; your job ends because of an illness that justifies it; you leave because of incapacity or domestic or other pressing necessity that justifies it; or your employer ends your job for any reason other than serious and wilful misconduct (s 8(3)). WorkSafe Tasmania says you 'will be entitled' when your employer ends your job or you reach retirement age, and you 'may be entitled' in the illness and pressing necessity cases.
An ordinary resignation between 7 and 10 years gets nothing (s 8(3)). WorkSafe Tasmania notes that being forced to resign (constructive dismissal) may create an entitlement.
Retirement age is the age set by your award or contract. If none is set, it is 65 for men and 60 for women (s 2(1)). Becoming eligible for a service pension under the Veterans' Entitlements Act also counts (s 8(3A)).
After 10 years, all your untaken leave plus the extra amount for time since your last block is paid when you leave, for any reason (s 8(2)(a)(iii), s 12(4)). It is paid as if your leave started on the day your job ended (s 12(4)).
| How the job ended | 7 to 10 years | After 10 years |
|---|---|---|
| Resigned | Nothing is payable (s 8(3)). | All untaken leave plus the extra amount for part years is paid (s 8(2)(a)(iii), s 12(4)). |
| Resigned due to illness or pressing necessity | Paid pro-rata if the illness, incapacity or domestic or other pressing necessity justifies leaving (s 8(3)). WorkSafe Tasmania says you 'may be entitled'. | All untaken leave plus the extra amount for part years is paid (s 8(2)(a)(iii)). |
| Employer ended your employment | Paid pro-rata, unless it was for serious and wilful misconduct (s 8(3)). | All untaken leave plus the extra amount for part years is paid (s 8(2)(a)(iii)). |
| Made redundant | Paid pro-rata. Redundancy is a termination by your employer for a reason other than serious and wilful misconduct (s 8(3)). | All untaken leave plus the extra amount for part years is paid (s 8(2)(a)(iii)). |
| Dismissed for serious and wilful misconduct | Nothing is payable (s 8(3)). | All untaken leave plus the extra amount for part years is paid. The Act's misconduct exclusion applies only to the 7 to 10 year payment (s 8(2)(a)(iii), s 12(4)). |
| Retired | Paid pro-rata if you have reached retirement age: your award or contract age, otherwise 65 for men and 60 for women (s 8(3), s 2(1)). | All untaken leave plus the extra amount for part years is paid (s 8(2)(a)(iii)). |
| Death | Your personal representatives are paid 1/60th of your ordinary pay for your period of continuous employment (s 9(2)(b)). | Your personal representatives are paid your untaken leave, plus 1/60th of your ordinary pay for the period since your last accrual (s 9, s 9(2)(a)). |
Before you rely on this
- Awards and agreements: you cannot contract out of the Act (s 17). But WorkSafe Tasmania says employees covered by federal awards or agreements that contain long service leave provisions are not covered by the Tasmanian Act. The Secretary can also exempt an employer for up to 5 years at a time if its scheme is no less favourable (s 7).
- Ordinary resignation between 7 and 10 years gets nothing. Only the listed reasons qualify for pro-rata (s 8(3)).
- Mining employees have different rules: 13 weeks for every 10 years, pro-rata from 5 years and a death payment of 1/40th (s 8A, s 9(3)). This page and calculator cover non-mining employees.
- Casual and part-time workers need at least 32 hours in each consecutive 4-week period to be treated as continuously employed (s 5(3)).
- Service before 1964, and people who had 9 to under 12 years' service on 1 July 2012, may have different transitional rules (Schedule 3). This calculator does not model them.
- There is no government long service leave calculator for Tasmania. WorkSafe Tasmania gives a manual method instead: years of service divided by 10, multiplied by 8.667 weeks.
- No current official source says whether you can take leave in advance, or how long your employer must keep your long service leave record.
- Construction industry employees are covered by the TasBuild portable scheme, not this Act (WorkSafe Tasmania).
What counts as service
Counts as service
- Annual leave and long service leave (s 5(1)(a)).
- Public holidays (s 5(1)(b)).
- Medically certified absence because of illness or injury (s 5(1)(c)).
- Jury service or appearing in court as a witness (s 5(1)(i)).
- Employer-approved absence to attend a committee under the Training and Workforce Development Act 2013 (s 5(1)(f)).
- An apprenticeship with the same employer, if your employment continued within 3 months of finishing it (s 5(9)).
- Non-permanent Australian Defence Force service, which counts as employment with your last employer (s 5(10)).
Does not count, but does not break your service
- Maternity leave (s 5(1)(ca)).
- Time lost to an industrial dispute (s 5(1)(e)).
- The gap between being terminated and re-employed within 3 months (s 5(1)(g)).
- Time stood down or terminated for slackness of trade (s 5(1)(h)).
- Other absences by leave of your employer, such as leave without pay (s 5(1)(j)).
Breaks your service
- None of the absences listed above break your continuous employment (s 5(1)).
- Your employer ending or interrupting your employment to avoid long service leave or annual leave does not break it (s 5(1)(d)).
- An industrial dispute does not break it if you return under the settlement (s 5(1)(e)).
- Being terminated for a reason other than slackness of trade does not break it if the same employer re-employs you within 3 months (s 5(1)(g)).
- A stand-down of up to 6 months for slackness of trade, or termination for slackness with a return within 6 months, does not break it if you return within 14 days of the offer (s 5(1)(h)).
- Other terminations do break it, for example being re-employed after more than 3 months, or returning more than 6 months after a slackness-of-trade termination (s 5(1)).
Casual and part-time work: you are treated as continuously employed if you are regularly employed for at least 32 hours in each consecutive 4-week period. This applies even if you are casual, part-time, work under 2 or more contracts or have other jobs (s 5(3)).
Transfer of business: if the business is transferred, your continuous employment is not broken and your service with the old owner counts (s 5(4)). Moving between related corporations, or corporations with substantially the same directors or management, also keeps your service (s 5(5)-(7)). If another employer re-employs you at the same place in substantially the same kind of business within 2 months, that is treated as a transfer (s 2(2)).
How your pay is worked out
Long service leave is paid at your ordinary pay: what you would reasonably expect to have received if you had kept working your normal weekly hours, without overtime (s 11). If you work shifts or a roster, it is assumed to continue, and WorkSafe Tasmania says shift penalties are included.
WorkSafe Tasmania says part-time and casual loadings are included. The cash value of board and lodging is included, unless it was provided because of a remote location or special circumstances (s 11).
Ordinary pay leaves out overtime, disability allowances for special danger, hardship or inconvenience, meals and meal payments, travel payments and vehicle allowances, and discretionary bonuses (s 11). WorkSafe Tasmania says living-away-from-home allowances are also left out.
If you have no fixed normal weekly hours, your hours are the average weekly hours you worked in the 12 months before the leave or payment starts (s 11(6)). WorkSafe Tasmania describes this as total hours in the previous 12 months divided by 52.
If you have no fixed rate of pay, your rate is the average rate over the 12 months before the leave or payment starts (s 11(4)).
If your pay depends on results, such as commission, your rate is the average you received in the 3 months before the leave or payment starts (s 11(3)). This also applies if only part of your pay depends on results (s 11(5)). WorkSafe Tasmania gives real estate salespeople as an example.
The rate used is your rate when you take the leave. If you are paid in full up front, the amount is adjusted afterwards for any pay change during your leave (s 12(7)). When your job ends, your leave is treated as starting that day, and pay changes that would have happened during the leave period are ignored (s 12(4), s 11(9)).
Taking your leave
- Minimum period
- You take your leave in one period, or in 2 periods if you and your employer agree (s 12(5)). Your employer does not have to grant leave until you have built up at least 8 2/3 weeks for your first leave, or 4 1/3 weeks after that (s 12(10)).
- Notice
- The Act sets no notice period for your employer to direct you to take leave. Leave is to be granted as soon as practicable after you become entitled, having regard to your employer's needs. It can be postponed by agreement or, if you cannot agree, as the Secretary directs. A direction cannot require your leave to start within 6 months of the direction (s 12(1)).
- Public holidays
- Public holidays, statutory holidays and annual leave that fall during your long service leave are not counted as part of it, so your leave is extended (s 12(9)).
- Leave in advance
- The Act does not provide for leave in advance, and current WorkSafe Tasmania pages do not mention it. No current official source says whether you can take it. An older official guide from 2003-04 said leave 'cannot be taken in advance', but that guide predates the 2011 changes to the Act.
- When you are paid
- You are paid in full when your leave starts, or on your normal pay days, or as you and your employer agree (s 12(6)). If you ask, your employer must send payment to an address you nominate (s 12(8)).
Cashing out
Once you are entitled to long service leave, you can agree with your employer to take payment instead of the leave, at your ordinary pay for the length of that leave (s 10). WorkSafe Tasmania says you can also agree to a mix of leave and payment. It must be by agreement. You cannot cash out leave you are not yet entitled to.
Records your employer must keep
Your employer must keep a long service leave record in the prescribed form, with the prescribed details (s 18). The record must be in writing using Form 1, entries must be made as soon as practicable, and you are allowed to inspect it (Long Service Leave Regulations 2017 reg 7). It can be combined with other leave, time or wages records (reg 7). No official source sets how long a long service leave record must be kept.
Who these rules cover
- Full-time, part-time and casual employees
- Apprentices
- Private sector employees
- Mining employees, under separate rules (s 8A)
Not covered
- Tasmanian State Service employees covered by the Long Service Leave (State Employees) Act 1994 (s 3(a))
- Local government employees entitled to long service leave under the Local Government (Building and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1993 (s 3(c))
- Employees of employers exempted by the Secretary (s 7)
- Commonwealth government employees, who have their own Act (WorkSafe Tasmania)
- Construction industry employees, who are under TasBuild (WorkSafe Tasmania)
- Employees covered by federal awards or agreements that contain long service leave provisions (WorkSafe Tasmania)
Recent changes
- 10 December 2018: The dispute process changed. A long service leave dispute can now be referred to the Secretary or directly to the Tasmanian Industrial Commission (s 13).
- 1 July 2012: The Long Service Leave Amendment Act 2011 took effect. The entitlement became 8 2/3 weeks after 10 years and 4 1/3 weeks for each further 5 years, pro-rata became available from 7 years, and death payments became 1/60th. Transitional rules apply to some existing employees (Schedule 3).
Questions about long service leave in TAS
How much long service leave do I get after 10 years in Tasmania?
8 2/3 weeks, which is about 8.67 weeks (s 8(2)(a)). You then get a further 4 1/3 weeks for each extra 5 years.
Do I get long service leave if I resign after 7 years in Tasmania?
Not for an ordinary resignation. Between 7 and 10 years, pro-rata is paid only for listed reasons, such as retirement age, illness, pressing necessity or your employer ending your job other than for serious and wilful misconduct (s 8(3)).
Does a part year count in Tasmania?
Yes, on leaving. Pro-rata and the extra amount after 10 years both count part years. WorkSafe Tasmania's example converts 13 years, 6 months and 14 days to 13.5383 years, giving 11.73 weeks.
Do casual workers get long service leave in Tasmania?
Yes, if you are regularly employed for at least 32 hours in each consecutive 4-week period (s 5(3)). If your hours are not fixed, your pay is based on your average weekly hours over the last 12 months (s 11(6)).
Can I cash out long service leave in Tasmania?
Yes, once you are entitled, by agreement with your employer (s 10). You are paid your ordinary pay for the length of the leave.
Official sources
- Long Service Leave Act 1976 (Tas)Tasmanian Legislation Online
- Long Service Leave Regulations 2017 (Tas)Tasmanian Office of Parliamentary Counsel
- Long service leaveWorkSafe Tasmania
- Pro rata long service leaveWorkSafe Tasmania
- Long service leave disputes and recordsWorkSafe Tasmania
- Contact usWorkSafe Tasmania
- Construction Industry (Long Service) Act 1997 (Tas)Tasmanian Office of Parliamentary Counsel
- Long Service Leave Guide (Workplace Standards Tasmania, 2003-04, historical)Workplace Standards Tasmania (via Libraries Tasmania)
Rules last reviewed 3 November 2026 against the Long Service Leave Act 1976 (Tas) and the regulator's guidance.