Long Service Leave Calculator WA 🇦🇺
Calculate your long service leave entitlements in Western Australia. Enter your years of service and ordinary hours per week (default 38) to see your leave entitlement in both weeks and hours. Use the pro-rata option if you're leaving your job.
WA Rules:
8.667 weeks at 10 years, then 4.333 weeks every 5 years (Pro-rata available after 7 years)
Introduction
Western Australia's Long Service Leave Act 1958 recognises commitment to a single employer by granting paid leave that sits outside annual and personal leave. For staff who stay the distance, it can fund a serious holiday or provide a cash buffer when changing jobs. This guide explains WA's entitlement rules, the quirks that set them apart from eastern-state regimes, and how to turn statutory weeks into hours with our Long Service Leave Calculator. Everything here is drawn from WorkSafe and Commerce WA's official guidance and the Act itself.
Core entitlement
- 8.6667 weeks after 10 years.
- 4.333 weeks every additional five years.
- Pro-rata: after seven years if the employee dies, is dismissed for reasons other than serious misconduct, resigns for pressing necessity, or leaves due to illness or incapacity.
Taking leave
The default is one continuous block, yet section 7(4)(b) permits any split agreed by both parties—no minimum duration. Employers can direct leave with 60 days' notice. Public holidays do not add extra leave, unlike most states.
Payment rules
Payment is whichever is higher: the ordinary pay for the last pay period before leave, or the average ordinary pay for the last five years. Casuals average hours across 12 months or five years. Commission-only staff average the better of 12 months or five years' earnings.
Calculator usage
Enter your service duration and weekly hours, and tick Leaving job? for pro-rata. The calculator will:
- Check if your service exceeds seven or ten years and apply the correct block or pro-rata formula.
- Convert weeks to hours using your ordinary hours (default 38).
- Display the next entitlement date if you have not yet hit 10 years.
Example scenarios
Resignation at 8 years 6 months for domestic necessity
- Weeks: 8.5 × 0.8667 = 7.367.
- Hours: 7.367 × 38 = 279.9 hours.
Continuous service 17 years full-time
- Weeks: 8.667 + 4.333 + (2 yrs × 0.8667) = 15.0 weeks.
- Hours: 15.0 × 38 = 570 hours.
Compliance note: "Forthwith" payment on termination means same day—late payment risks penalties.