data tool
Annual leave calculator for Australia
Full time and part time employees in Australia get 4 weeks of paid annual leave a year based on their ordinary hours, which is 152 hours on a 38 hour week, and shiftworkers as their award defines them get 5. Leave builds up with every hour worked. This calculator shows the hours accrued, the weeks they make and the loading on them.
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How it works
- 1
Enter ordinary hours
Type ordinary hours a week, such as 38 for full time or 22.8 for three days.
- 2
Enter the weeks
Type the weeks worked in the period you want, such as 26 for half a year.
- 3
Add rate and loading
Type the hourly rate and the loading the award gives, often 17.5%, and tick shiftworker if it applies.
- 4
Read the result
The tiles show hours accrued, weeks of leave, a full year's hours and the loading dollars.
How leave accrues
Annual leave accrues progressively through the year according to ordinary hours of work, and accumulates from year to year. Four weeks a year means 4/52 of every ordinary hour, so a full time employee on 38 hours accrues about 2.92 hours a week and 152 hours a year. The Fair Work Ombudsman's own example is a part time employee on 20 hours a week who accumulates 80 hours over the year, the equivalent of 4 weeks for her. Shiftworkers accrue 5/52 instead.
Table by weekly hours
At 38 ordinary hours a week a year's leave is 152 hours; at 30 hours, 120; at 22.8 hours, which is three days of 7.6, it is 91.2 hours; at 15 hours, 60. A shiftworker on 38 hours gets 190 hours. The weeks figure stays at 4 or 5 whatever the hours, because the leave is measured in the employee's own ordinary weeks. The calculator shows the full year figure beside the hours accrued so far.
Part time hours and changing hours
A part time employee accrues on the ordinary hours they actually work, so someone who moves from 38 hours to 22.8 hours in the middle of the year accrues at the higher rate before the change and the lower rate after it. To check a balance across a change, run the calculator once for each period with its own hours and weeks, and add the two results. Hours worked beyond ordinary hours, such as overtime, do not accrue leave, so type ordinary hours only, not the hours on the timesheet.
Accrual during paid leave and workers compensation
Annual leave keeps accruing while the employee is on paid leave, such as annual leave itself or paid personal leave, because those are periods of service. Most unpaid leave does not accrue annual leave. Whether leave accrues while an employee is receiving workers compensation depends on the state or territory scheme, so check that scheme's rules rather than the NES alone.
Leave loading
The NES does not require leave loading. Many awards add 17.5% of the base rate on annual leave, and some pay shift penalties instead when they would be higher. Loading is usually paid when leave is taken and, under many awards, on leave paid out at the end of employment. The calculator multiplies the hours accrued by the hourly rate and the loading you type, so set the percentage the award or agreement gives.
Leave in the contract and the policy
An employment contract states the leave entitlement, how it accrues, the loading if any, and how leave is requested. A leave policy adds notice periods, close downs and cashing out rules where the award allows them. The AI document generator writes either from a short description, and the figures from this calculator keep the numbers in the document consistent.
Limits
- Law checked on 21 October 2026 against the Fair Work Act 2009 and the Fair Work Ombudsman. This is arithmetic, not legal advice.
- Casual employees do not accrue annual leave; their casual loading replaces it.
- Leave loading, cashing out and shiftworker definitions come from the award or agreement, not the NES.
- Unpaid leave generally does not accrue annual leave; type only the weeks that do.
What it does not do
- It does not track leave taken or the balance.
- It does not apply award penalty rates during leave.
- It does not store the figures.
Questions people ask
How many hours of annual leave do I accrue per week?
Your ordinary hours times 4 divided by 52. On 38 hours that is about 2.92 hours a week; on 20 hours it is about 1.54 hours. Shiftworkers use 5 divided by 52, which on 38 hours gives about 3.65 hours a week.
Do casuals get annual leave?
No. Casual employees do not get paid annual leave under the NES; they receive a casual loading on their hourly rate instead. A casual who converts to part time or full time employment starts accruing annual leave from the date of conversion.
What is leave loading?
An extra payment on top of the base rate when annual leave is taken, often 17.5%, set by many awards and agreements rather than the NES. It was introduced to make up for overtime and penalties an employee would otherwise have earned while working.
Who counts as a shiftworker for 5 weeks?
An employee who meets the shiftworker definition in their award or enterprise agreement, typically someone who works rotating shifts over seven days and regularly works Sundays and public holidays. Without that definition in the award or agreement, the NES gives 4 weeks.
Is unused annual leave paid out when I leave?
Yes. Any untaken annual leave is paid out at the end of employment at the rate the employee would have received had they taken it, and many awards add leave loading to the payout. Annual leave does not expire. It is shown on the final payslip.
Can annual leave be cashed out?
Only if the award or agreement allows it, or, for award free employees, by written agreement, and the employee must keep at least 4 weeks' balance after cashing out. Each cash out needs a separate written agreement, and the payment cannot be less than the leave would have paid.
Write the leave policy
Take what you made here into documents.
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Background reading: the question page on this.
Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked .