It’s a common question. REEF often receives calls asking about an employee’s ability to cash out an amount of accrued long service leave. But can they?
Long service leave is one of the few workplace entitlements that is still regulated under state or territory laws. While the Federal Government has expressed an intention to set a national long service leave framework, it has not yet done so. Therefore, different rules apply in different states and territories.
Cashing out long service leave, rather than taking it as time off from work, is not a standard provision – so, to be permitted, it must be authorised under the relevant state or territory long service leave legislation.
New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory prohibit the cashing out of long service leave under any circumstances (other than, of course, upon the termination of employment).
Exceptions exist in South Australia (where it can occur, subject to certain requirements), Queensland (where it can also occur, subject to certain requirements), Western Australia and Tasmania. If an employee asks to cash out a portion of their long service leave, call REEF 1300 616 170 to discuss if the exceptions are relevant.
Long service leave fact sheets
REEF has recently produced a series of long service leave fact sheets, customised for each jurisdiction. You can download a copy of the fact sheet for your state or territory by logging into the People Management System.
