How Much Sick Leave Do Part-Time Employees Get in Australia?

Part-time employees in Australia generally receive paid sick leave on a pro-rata basis under the National Employment Standards. The entitlement is part of paid personal/carer's leave and is calculated from the employee's ordinary hours. A part-time employee who works half the ordinary hours of a comparable full-time employee will usually accrue about half the paid leave hours over a full year of service.

Leave accumulates progressively rather than appearing only after 12 months, carries over from year to year, and can be used for the employee's own illness or injury or an eligible caring responsibility. The actual available hours depend on the agreed ordinary hours, length of service, leave already taken and periods when accrual did not apply.

This is general information about national minimum entitlements, not legal or payroll advice. An award, enterprise agreement, contract, employer policy or state public sector scheme may provide a more generous amount or a different calculation.

Key Points

• Permanent part-time employees accrue paid personal/carer's leave based on their ordinary hours.
• The pro-rata entitlement is equivalent to 10 days for the employee's own ordinary working pattern over a year.
• A 19-hour-per-week employee commonly accrues about 38 paid leave hours over a year.
• Accrual is progressive and unused hours carry over while employment continues.
• Paid sick leave covers ordinary hours the employee would otherwise have worked, not extra overtime hours.
• Sick leave and paid carer's leave come from the same balance.
• Casual employees do not accrue paid personal/carer's leave under the National Employment Standards.
• Notice and reasonable evidence can be required even when a paid balance is available.

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The Part-Time Entitlement in Simple Terms

The National Employment Standards give full-time employees the equivalent of 10 days of paid personal/carer's leave for each year of service. Part-time employees receive a pro-rata amount based on ordinary hours. The “days” reflect each employee's ordinary work pattern; they are not ten universal blocks of 7.6 hours.

A useful annual estimate is:

ordinary weekly hours ÷ 5 = approximate paid personal/carer's leave hours accrued over a full year

This shortcut reflects two ordinary working weeks across a year. A person contracted for 20 ordinary hours each week would accrue about 40 hours over a full year. A person contracted for 24 hours would accrue about 48 hours. Payroll systems normally calculate the entitlement progressively each pay period, so small rounding differences may appear.

The Fair Work Ombudsman's paid sick and carer's leave page explains that part-time employees accrue pro-rata based on ordinary hours. Dociva's sick leave entitlements pillar covers the national framework, while the recommended medical certificates for part-time and full-time employees guide focuses on evidence.

Worked Examples for Regular Weekly Hours

Three short days: Amira works 18 ordinary hours each week over Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Over a full year, she accrues approximately 36 hours of paid personal/carer's leave. If she is ill for a scheduled six-hour Wednesday shift, six hours can be deducted from the available balance.

Half-time schedule: Blake works 19 ordinary hours each week where comparable full-time hours are 38. Blake accrues approximately 38 hours over a full year. If the work pattern is two 7.6-hour days and one 3.8-hour day, the hours deducted depend on which scheduled shift is missed.

Four-day arrangement: Chen works 30.4 ordinary hours over four 7.6-hour days. The annual accrual is approximately 60.8 hours. That is equivalent to eight of Chen's usual 7.6-hour workdays, while still representing the pro-rata statutory entitlement.

These are general illustrations, not payroll determinations. Changed hours, unpaid periods, award provisions and prior leave usage can alter the balance.

Why the Balance Is Shown in Hours

Payroll systems usually record personal leave in hours because part-time workdays vary. Describing the entitlement only as “10 days” can be misleading when an employee works unequal shifts or fewer than five days per week.

If Dana ordinarily works eight hours on Monday and four hours on Thursday, an illness on Monday generally requires eight paid leave hours, while an illness on Thursday requires four. A day off on Friday uses no sick leave because Dana was not scheduled to perform ordinary hours.

This hours-based approach also explains why two part-time employees with the same weekly total can see different deductions for a particular date. Their annual accrual can be similar while their scheduled shift lengths differ.

How Leave Accrues Through the Year

Paid personal/carer's leave accrues progressively according to ordinary hours. A new part-time employee begins building an entitlement from the start of employment and does not ordinarily need to complete a full year before using the leave already accrued.

For a regular 20-hour week, the annual estimate is 40 hours. After six months of qualifying service, the employee may have accrued around 20 hours before considering rounding, leave used or periods when accrual paused. Payroll may add a fraction each weekly, fortnightly or monthly pay cycle.

Paid personal/carer's leave generally continues accruing during paid annual leave and paid personal/carer's leave. It generally does not accrue during unpaid leave. The Fair Work sick and carer's leave overview summarises when the entitlement accumulates.

Read how personal leave accrues for a deeper explanation of progressive accrual and service periods.

What Happens When Part-Time Hours Change?

A permanent change in ordinary hours affects future accrual. If an employee increases from 15 to 25 ordinary hours per week, leave accrued after the change should reflect the higher hours. Existing accrued hours remain in the balance; they are not usually multiplied or reduced merely because the weekly pattern changes.

For example, Elena has 22 hours banked when her contract increases. She keeps those 22 hours and begins accruing at the new rate. If her hours later decrease, the carried hours remain, but future accrual slows.

Variable rosters require careful identification of ordinary hours. Additional hours may be ordinary under an award or agreement, while genuine overtime is treated differently. Ask payroll which hours were included and compare them with the employment contract, roster and applicable industrial instrument.

Do not assume every hour worked above a regular pattern should generate sick leave. The legal question is whether it is an ordinary hour, not simply whether it appeared on a timesheet.

Payment When Sick Leave Is Taken

An employee taking paid personal leave is generally paid at their base rate for the ordinary hours they would have worked during the absence. The base rate ordinarily excludes incentive payments, bonuses, loadings, monetary allowances, overtime and penalty rates, although a more generous award or agreement may apply.

If Faisal was rostered for five ordinary hours and then two overtime hours, a qualifying sickness absence generally deducts and pays the five ordinary hours under the minimum entitlement, not the planned overtime. Check the applicable instrument because additional payment rules can differ.

The Fair Work payment for sick and carer's leave guidance explains the applicable pay concept. See also Dociva's Australian sick pay entitlement guide.

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Rollover and the Shared Balance

Unused paid personal/carer's leave carries over from year to year while employment continues. There is no general National Employment Standards rule that resets a part-time employee's balance to zero on their anniversary.

Sick leave and paid carer's leave share that balance. If Grace has 30 hours available and uses four hours to care for an ill child, 26 hours remain for a later eligible sickness or caring absence, plus any new accrual.

Dociva's guide to whether sick leave rolls over covers carried balances and termination. A workplace may provide extra leave above the statutory entitlement with separate rollover conditions, so distinguish the two components.

Taking Sick Leave as a Part-Time Employee

The employee must be unable to work because of personal illness or injury. They should tell the employer as soon as practicable and state the expected period of leave. An employer can ask for evidence that would satisfy a reasonable person, including for one day or less.

The Fair Work notice and medical certificate guidance explains the evidence rule. A part-time schedule does not make the evidence standard stronger or weaker than it is for full-time employees.

Evidence should cover the scheduled period affected by incapacity. If the certificate spans Monday to Wednesday but the employee was only due to work Tuesday, payroll generally deducts the ordinary hours for Tuesday, not every calendar day named.

Read taking personal leave in hours or part-days when only part of a scheduled shift is missed.

What If the Balance Is Too Low?

A new employee or someone who has used earlier leave may not have enough accrued hours for the full absence. The employer and employee can discuss using the available paid balance first and then unpaid leave, annual leave by agreement, or personal leave in advance if the employer agrees or an industrial instrument permits it.

The National Employment Standards do not generally require an employer to let a permanent employee take paid personal leave in advance. Any arrangement should record how the negative balance will be treated, particularly if employment ends before it is re-accrued.

Dociva's guide to having no sick leave left explains the possible alternatives. An employee should not simply submit annual leave as “sick leave” without discussing which entitlement applies.

Casual and Fixed-Term Comparisons

Casual employees do not accrue paid personal/carer's leave under the National Employment Standards, regardless of how regular their roster appears. They can access unpaid carer's leave for eligible caring occasions, and a contract or enterprise agreement may provide extra benefits.

A part-time employee on a fixed-term contract is not automatically casual. If they are genuinely employed part-time, they generally accrue paid leave during the contract on the same ordinary-hours basis. The balance is usually not paid out when employment ends unless a more generous instrument applies.

Employment labels should match the actual legal arrangement. Ask the employer to clarify whether the role is permanent part-time, fixed-term part-time or casual if payslips do not show an accrued balance.

How to Audit a Part-Time Balance

1. Confirm the contracted ordinary weekly hours and any permanent changes.
2. Record the start date and periods of unpaid leave.
3. Obtain the opening balance and every accrual and deduction transaction.
4. Compare leave deductions with scheduled ordinary hours, not calendar days.
5. Check whether carer's leave deductions came from the same balance.
6. Separate ordinary additional hours from overtime under the applicable instrument.
7. Review the award, agreement, contract and workplace policy for extra benefits.
8. Ask payroll to explain discrepancies and corrections in writing.

The Fair Work Leave Calculator can help estimate a minimum entitlement. Complex roster patterns may require payroll, union or workplace-law advice.

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Using Dociva

Dociva currently accepts online requests for sick-leave, carer's leave, study and multi-day medical certificates. An Australian registered medical practitioner assesses submitted circumstances on clinical information rather than whether the applicant works part-time or full-time.

A certificate may support a genuine incapacity period but does not create paid leave or calculate a balance. Certificates and requested dates are not guaranteed, and Dociva does not backdate certificate issue dates.

For a suitable request, use the Dociva medical certificate application and provide accurate dates and functional information. Broader telehealth consultations are also available. Direct entitlement and payroll questions to the employer, Fair Work, a union or a qualified adviser.

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