Your entitlements when you quit a job
Quitting a job and starting a new venture in life can be a daunting enough experience on its own. Depending on the circumstances of you leaving your job, there are some things that you should be aware of – things that you ARE entitled to.
First and foremost, do you know what award you are employed under (if applicable)? Do you have a copy of your employment contract? Does this contract have relevant and correct information on it?
If you answered ‘NO’ to any of the above – GET THAT INFORMATION NOW! Having this information ensures that you know what you are entitled to when you are employed, if you quit and also if you are fired.
Let’s look over the three main areas of your entitlements when you quit a job:
- Notice
- Annual Leave
- Long Service Leave
Notice:
When you resign from a position you are required to give your employer notice. Often this is usually a 2–4-week period, however you should check in your award and/or employee contract.
If your employer asks or suggests that you can finish up your employment earlier than the notice period (and not work) you are still entitled to be paid for this time.
They MUST pay your wages for the time that you would have worked, this includes any payments that you would have received in that time period – such as bonuses and penalty rates.
Annual Leave:
Depending on your employment circumstances, you may accrue annual leave throughout the time that you are employed. If this is the case, then all of the unused, accrued annual leave must be paid out.
All fulltime employees are entitled to 4 weeks of annual leave, this is accrued at 2.923 hours per week.
Depending on how long you have worked for the business and how much annual leave you have used, you will be able to get the remaining paid out.
An employee timesheet should reflect on it how much leave you have remaining and this would be paid out at your normal hourly rate.
Long Service Leave – over 10 years:
If you have been working for the same employer for 10 years or more, you are entitled to gain Long Service Leave. This is 2 months of paid leave (on top of your standard annual leave).
When you resign from your position, any of the Long Service Leave you have gained (and not yet used) must be paid out to you as well.
This leave would be paid out at your normal hourly rate.
Long Service Leave – over 5 years:
If you have worked for the same employer for 5 years or more you MAY be entitled to having your Long Service Leave paid out ‘pro-rata’. This means paying you out for the amount of Long Service Leave you have gained, but are not yet entitled to.
In order to get this paid out, you must fall under one of the below areas:
- illness,
- incapacity or
- domestic or other pressing necessity.
This could include job security, leaving a position for higher pay due to family needs, employer is relocating, lessening travel expenses and more.
If you fall under any of these circumstances, it would be best to discuss with your employer and if needed, seek advice from Fair Work or legal departments.
Recap:
- If your employee tells you that you can finish earlier than your notice period, they MUST pay you out your wages for that time (including extra pay that you would have received, such as bonuses);
- No matter the circumstances, if you had annual leave accrued throughout your employment, that has not been used, this must be paid out in full;
- If you have worked for over 10 years and therefore been given Long Service Leave, this must be paid out in full; And
- If you have worked for more than 5 years you MAY be entitled to your Long Service Leave being paid out, pro rata, depending on circumstances.
So many people are unaware of their rights and also unaware of where to look or who to seek advise from when/if the situation arises.
Ultimately the best people to contact are Fair Work. They know the ins and outs of jobs, industries, awards and rights. By supplying them with the information they need (usually simple and basic details) they are able to look into your rights and give you an idea of what direction you should head in.
Fair Work can sometimes be seen as a ‘scary place’, someone people do not want to talk to. They have obligation free advise and are honestly the best people to help you, when needed.
I hope this helps.
-Kaitlin-