Starting this week, Australian employees can now ‘cash out’ some of their excess annual leave.
This major change to annual leave laws came into effect from 29th July.
As per new clauses established by Fairwork Commission, here are specific changes that affect your annual leave:
- cashing out annual leave
- taking annual leave in advance
- managing large ('excessive') annual leave balances
- payment for annual leave.
Here’s how you can ‘cash-out’ your annual leave
Most companies in Australia will now allow employees to cash out annual leave, if they:
- have at least 4 weeks annual leave left after the cash out
- have a signed written agreement with their employer
- don't cash out more than 2 weeks each 12 months.
If you did like to find out whether cashing out is now allowed under your award and what the rules are, check out Cashing out annual leave.
Here’s how you can take annual leave in advance
Most Australian companies will now allow employees to take annual leave before they have accrued it if their employer agrees in writing.
The agreement needs to:
- be signed by both the employer and the employee
- say how much annual leave is being taken in advance
- say the day the leave will start.
How can I manage excessive annual leave balances?
Excessive annual leave is when an employee has accumulated at least 8 weeks of leave (10 weeks for a shiftworker).
The rules about what happens if an employee has accumulated an excessive annual leave balance have been changed in some awards.
If an employee has an excessive annual leave balance and can't agree with their employer on when to take it, the employer can:
- tell the employee, in writing, that they must take annual leave
- give the employee at least 8 weeks notice (and not more than 12 months) of when the leave will start.
