Pro Rata · Part-Time

Part-time annual leave calculator.

Part-timers get the same 4 weeks as full-timers, measured in their own hours. The rate is your ordinary weekly hours divided by 13, so 20 hours a week accrues about 80 hours a year. Enter your hours below.

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Standard FT week is 38 hours.
$
For loading & payout values.

Here's your entitlement

AU$3,299.04
Total annual leave value (incl. 17.5% loading) for 52 weeks of service.
4.0 wks
Entitlement
80.22 hrs
Accrued
10.0 days
Working days
See full calculationFair Work Act 2009 (Cth) s.87
ComponentFormulaValue
Accrual rate (PART-TIME)4 wks × 20h ÷ 521.538 hrs/wk
Hours accrued1.538 × 52 wks80.22 hrs
Hourly base rate-$35.00
Base leave value80.22 × $35.00$2,807.69
17.5% leave loadingbase × 0.175+ $491.35
Total payout-$3,299.04

Where the value comes from

Base leave
$2,807
17.5% loading
$491

ⓘ Calculated under section 87 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and the National Employment Standards. Loading rate per the relevant modern award.

Sarah Reid, CAHRI
Reviewed bySarah Reid, CAHRICert IV Payroll · Sydney based
Verified expert

Disclaimer: This tool does not constitute legal or financial advice. Results may be inaccurate due to changes in legislation or your circumstances. This tool does not constitute legal or financial advice. We do not recommend taking actions based solely on these results. The calculator makes assumptions and results may be inaccurate due to changes in legislation, modern awards, or your personal circumstances. You use this information at your own risk. We can't guarantee to be perfect, so do note you use the information at your own risk and we can't accept liability if things go wrong. For official guidance, visit Fair Work Ombudsman (fairwork.gov.au). Fair Work Ombudsman.

The pro-rata rule in one line

Annual leave per year = your ordinary weekly hours × 4. Section 87 of the Fair Work Act 2009 gives every permanent employee 4 weeks of paid annual leave. It does not give full-timers more weeks, it gives everyone the same 4 weeks of whatever their own week is.

Expressed as an accrual rate, you earn ordinary weekly hours ÷ 13 of leave for every week you work. The 13 comes from 52 weeks divided by 4 weeks of leave. A full-timer on 38 hours accrues 2.923 hours a week, which is where the familiar 152 hours a year comes from. A part-timer on 19 hours accrues exactly half of that.

Pro rata applies to the hours, not the weeks. You are not entitled to 2 weeks because you work half a week. You are entitled to 4 weeks, and each of those weeks is your week. This is the single most common part-time leave misunderstanding.

Part-time annual leave by weekly hours

Accrual at the NES rate, per week worked and per full year, with the equivalent in days at that person's own daily hours over a 5-day spread.

Ordinary hours/weekAccrues per weekPer year (hours)Per year (days)
8 h0.615 h32.0 h4.2
10 h0.769 h40.0 h5.3
15 h1.154 h60.0 h7.9
16 h1.231 h64.0 h8.4
20 h1.538 h80.0 h10.5
24 h1.846 h96.0 h12.6
25 h1.923 h100.0 h13.2
30 h2.308 h120.0 h15.8
32 h2.462 h128.0 h16.8
38 h (full-time)2.923 h152.0 h20.0

To convert a balance you already hold, use the hours to days calculator, which takes your own day length rather than assuming one.

Where part-time leave gets complicated

Changing your hours. Your accrued balance in hours is unaffected by a change to your hours, but its value in days and in dollars is not, because leave is paid at the rate applying when you take it. Dropping from 38 to 20 hours does not shrink a 152-hour balance, but it does change what taking a week off costs you.

Public holidays. You are paid for a public holiday only if it falls on a day you would ordinarily work (s.116). Two part-timers on identical hours can get different numbers of paid holidays purely because of which weekdays they work. See public holidays by state.

Irregular hours. If your hours vary, accrual follows the ordinary hours actually worked rather than a fixed weekly figure. Payroll accrues per hour at 1/13th. Use your average over a representative period as the input here.

Being called casual when you are not. Casuals accrue no annual leave at all and receive loading instead. If your hours are regular and ongoing you may be part-time in substance regardless of the label, which changes your entitlement entirely. See casual vs permanent.

Part-Time Q & A

Part-time annual leave, answered.

The questions part-time employees actually ask about accrual and pay.

How is part-time annual leave calculated in Australia?
Part-time employees get the same 4 weeks of paid annual leave as full-time employees under section 87 of the Fair Work Act 2009, but 4 weeks of their own hours. The accrual rate is your ordinary hours per week divided by 13. On 20 hours a week that is 1.538 hours of leave for every week worked, or about 80 hours a year.
How much annual leave does a part-timer accrue per year?
Four times your ordinary weekly hours. Someone on 20 hours a week accrues 80 hours a year, someone on 15 hours accrues 60, and someone on 30 hours accrues 120. In days it depends on the length of your ordinary day, which is why the balance is tracked in hours.
Do part-time employees get leave loading?
If the applicable award or enterprise agreement provides 17.5% annual leave loading, part-time employees get it on the same terms as full-time employees. Loading is not a National Employment Standard, so check your own award rather than assuming.
What happens to my leave balance if I change from full-time to part-time?
The balance in hours does not change. If you had 152 hours accrued as a full-timer, you still have 152 hours after dropping to part-time. What changes is what those hours are worth in days and how quickly you accrue from then on. Because leave is paid at your rate at the time you take it, taking it after the drop generally pays less per day than it would have before, which is why the timing matters.
Do part-time employees get public holidays?
Yes, if the holiday falls on a day you would ordinarily work. Under section 116 of the Fair Work Act you are paid your base rate for the ordinary hours you would have worked. If the holiday falls on a day you never work, you get nothing extra, which is why two part-timers on the same hours can end up with different numbers of paid holidays depending on which days they work.
Is part-time the same as casual for annual leave?
No, and this is the most common mistake. Part-time employees are permanent and accrue annual leave. Casual employees accrue none and are paid casual loading, typically 25%, instead. If you have regular, predictable hours and ongoing employment you may be part-time in substance even if you are labelled casual.
My hours change every week. How do I work out my leave?
Accrual follows the ordinary hours you actually work, so an irregular part-timer accrues at a varying rate rather than a fixed weekly figure. Payroll systems handle this by accruing per hour worked at 1/13th. Use your average weekly hours over a representative period as the input, and check your payslip balance rather than relying on an estimate.
Part-Time Methodology

Built on Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) s.87.

Pro-rata accrual is calculated as ordinary weekly hours divided by 13, which is the NES 4-week entitlement expressed as an hourly accrual. The same engine runs the main annual leave calculator.

Reviewed by a registered HR practitioner.

Last reviewed10 Aug 2026
ReviewerSarah Reid, CAHRI
Primary sourceFair Work Act 2009 (Cth) s.87
RefreshQuarterly