data tool
Long service leave calculator for NSW
In New South Wales a worker gets 2 months (8.67 weeks) of paid long service leave after 10 years of continuous service and one more month for each further 5 years. Between 5 and 10 years, pro rata leave is paid out only for certain reasons for leaving. This calculator applies both rules from the service dates and the reason.
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How it works
- 1
Enter the dates
Type the first day of work and the last day, or today's date if the worker is still employed.
- 2
Enter weekly pay
Type ordinary weekly pay so the payout can be shown in dollars.
- 3
Pick the reason
Choose still employed, or the reason employment ends: dismissal, resignation for illness or pressing necessity, other resignation, misconduct or death.
- 4
Read the result
The tiles show leave to take, weeks paid on leaving, the payout and the service.
The 10 year rule
NSW Industrial Relations states that the Long Service Leave Act 1955 entitles full time, part time and casual workers to 2 months of paid long service leave on completing 10 years of continuous service, and one month for each additional 5 years. The Act defines a month as 4 1/3 weeks, so 10 years gives 8.67 weeks, 15 years 13 weeks and 20 years 17.33 weeks. The entitlement is measured in weeks, not days or hours, and is paid at the worker's ordinary pay.
The 5 year pro rata test
Between 5 and 10 years a worker has no leave to take, but is paid pro rata long service leave on leaving if the employer ends the employment for any reason other than serious and wilful misconduct, if the worker resigns on account of illness, incapacity, domestic or other pressing necessity, or if the worker dies. Resigning for any other reason, or being dismissed for serious and wilful misconduct, means no pro rata payment. After 10 years, pro rata leave is paid when employment ends for any reason. Under 5 years nothing is owed.
Table of years to weeks
Pro rata leave accrues at 13/15 of a week for each year, about 0.8667 weeks. That gives 4.33 weeks at 5 years, 6.07 weeks at 7 years, 8.67 at 10 years and 10.4 at 12 years. On leaving after 10 years the worker is paid for all service not already taken as leave, so 12 years with no leave taken pays 10.4 weeks. The calculator works out service in years, months and days and applies the same rate.
Two workers, worked through
A dispatcher who started on 14 May 2018 and whose role is abolished on 20 November 2026 has about 8.5 years of service. The employer ended the employment for a reason other than misconduct, so pro rata leave of about 7.37 weeks is paid, which at $1,385 a week is about $10,200. If the same dispatcher had resigned to take another job, nothing would be owed, because the service is under 10 years and the reason is not one the Act lists.
Casuals and part time workers
The Act applies to casual and part time workers as well as full time ones, provided their service is continuous. A casual who works regularly for 10 years with the same employer earns long service leave, paid at the average of their weekly hours over the relevant period. Because averaging depends on the hours history, type the ordinary weekly pay that the averaging produces; the calculator then applies the weeks to it.
Putting it on the final pay
A termination letter or final pay statement should show the long service leave paid, the years it covers and the rate used. The AI document generator writes a termination letter from a description; give it the reason for leaving, the service dates and the weeks from this calculator so the letter states the entitlement correctly.
Limits
- Law checked on 21 October 2026 against NSW Industrial Relations' guidance on the Long Service Leave Act 1955. This is arithmetic, not legal advice.
- Portable schemes for building and construction, contract cleaning, community services and security work run separately and are not covered.
- Service is the dates you type; the Act's rules on breaks that count as continuous service are not applied for you.
- Ordinary weekly pay is the figure you type; averaging for workers whose hours varied follows the Act's own rules.
What it does not do
- It does not track leave already taken.
- It does not cover other states; the Victorian calculator handles Victoria.
- It does not store the dates or pay.
Questions people ask
How much long service leave do I get after 10 years in NSW?
Two months, which the Act treats as 8 2/3 weeks, so about 8.67 weeks of paid leave at ordinary pay. Each further 5 years adds one month, 4.33 weeks, so 15 years gives 13 weeks and 20 years 17.33 weeks.
Do I get pro rata long service leave if I resign?
Between 5 and 10 years, only if you resign because of illness, incapacity or domestic or other pressing necessity. Resigning for another reason before 10 years means no pro rata payment. After 10 years, you are paid pro rata leave whatever the reason for leaving.
Is long service leave paid out on termination?
Yes, after 10 years for any reason, and between 5 and 10 years when the employer ends the employment other than for serious and wilful misconduct, or the worker leaves for one of the listed reasons or dies. The payout covers service not already taken as leave.
Do casual workers get long service leave in NSW?
Yes. The NSW Act covers casual workers with continuous service with the same employer. Breaks between casual engagements can still count as continuous in some cases under the Act's deeming provisions, which NSW Industrial Relations explains in its FAQs. The calculator counts every day between the dates you type.
What counts as a month of long service leave?
The NSW Act defines a month as 4 1/3 weeks, which is 4.3333 recurring. That is why 2 months is 8.67 weeks rather than a calendar measure, and why the entitlement is expressed in weeks rather than days. The calculator uses 13/15 of a week for each year of service.
Can long service leave be cashed out in NSW?
Generally no while employment continues. The NSW Act does not allow long service leave to be paid out instead of taken except when employment ends, so the leave has to be taken as time off during employment. It is then paid out as part of the final pay.
Write the final pay letter
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Background reading: the question page on this.
Sources
Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked .