FAQ’s on Employee Leave Entitlements
During the Christmas/New Year period many of our clients come to us for advice about employee leave entitlements. That is why, for this week’s blog, we have compiled a list of frequently asked questions about employee leave entitlements to help you get by the holiday period.
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How many leave days does an employee accrue each year?
You are required to pay a minimum of 10 working days of personal/sick leave and a minimum of 20 annual leave days for every full-time employee. Long Service Leave depends on the state/s in which your business operates, service period of employees and also may vary based on their Award classification. Please click here for more information about Long Service Leave in Queensland.
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Do I have to pay my employees during the shutdown of business over Christmas and New Year?
The short answer to this questions is that full-time and part-time employees have to pay their usual wages unless their award or agreement says otherwise. Casual employees don’t have to be paid during shutdowns.
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What if an employee doesn’t have enough annual leave to cover the shutdown period?
This will depend on your award or agreement. Generally, an employee who has not accrued sufficient annual leave to cover part or all of the closedown is allowed paid leave for the period for which they have accrued sufficient leave and given unpaid leave for the remainder of the closedown.
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What happens if a public holiday falls during an employee’s annual leave?
Public holidays like Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day are not annual leave days. This means that the employee should be paid their base rate of pay for the day, and the day shouldn’t be taken off their annual leave balance.
