Part-time sick leave.

Do part-time employees get sick leave?

Yes. The Fair Work Ombudsman says “all employees except casuals are entitled to paid sick and carer’s leave”, and sets the amount at “10 days for full-time employees, and pro-rata for part-time employees”. Section 96 of the Fair Work Act 2009 makes the leave accrue progressively “according to the employee’s ordinary hours of work”, so it builds from your first day and the unused balance carries over every year.

The general rules on sick and carer’s leave, including what it covers and what happens when you leave, are on the sick leave calculator. This page covers what is different when you work part-time.

How much sick leave part-timers get

The Fair Work Ombudsman’s own pair of examples: Suzanne works 38 hours a week and gets “76 hours of paid sick and carer’s leave per year”; Rebecca works 19 hours a week and gets 38 hours. Some guides say a 19-hour week earns 19 hours of sick leave a year. That is half the correct figure.

1/26 of ordinary hours, Fair Work Act 2009 s 96 and FWO (content last updated 10 August 2026). The 19-hour row matches FWO’s Rebecca example; her days are not stated, so 5 days of 3.8 hours is our illustration.

When your days are different lengths

Most part-time rosters are not five equal days. Because the balance is kept in hours, the length of the day you are sick on decides how much of it you use. The Fair Work Ombudsman says sick leave “is paid at an employee’s base pay rate for each hour or part of an hour of leave they take”. A sick long day uses more of the year than a sick short day.

For Ava, the “10 days” are two of her weeks: 6 of her shifts, not ten. Pick “Different hours on different days” in the calculator to see the same table for your roster.

Is it 10 sick days for part-time?

Yes, but the 10 days are a measure of hours. The Fair Work Ombudsman’s FAQ says the entitlement “is calculated based on an employee’s hours of work, not days”. Its example compares two employees on the same 36-hour week (1,872 hours a year): both get 72 hours, which is 10 days of 7.2 hours for Len and 6 days of 12 hours for Joss.

Counted in your own shifts, the year is always twice the number of days you work each week, as long as your days are the same length: 3 days a week gives 6 shifts, 4 days gives 8. The accrued sick days calculator shows how a balance you already hold converts into shifts and days.

If your hours change week to week

Accrual follows the ordinary hours you actually work. For award-free part-timers whose hours vary, the Fair Work Ombudsman’s method is to “calculate the total number of hours worked in the last 4 weeks; divide by 4”. For example, 86 hours over the last 4 weeks averages 21.5 hours a week, which accrues at 43 hours a year. An award or agreement may set its own method, so check yours if one covers you.

Whether extra shifts beyond your agreed hours count depends on whether your award or agreement treats them as ordinary hours.

Changing your hours

Section 96(2) ties accrual to your ordinary hours as they are at the time, and the leave “accumulates from year to year”. Our reading: dropping from full-time to part-time slows accrual from that date and leaves the hours you have already banked alone. Full-time for 26 weeks (38 hours) then 22.8 hours a week for 26 weeks (22.8 hours) gives 60.8 hours for that year. To count a balance across a change, use the accrued sick days calculator, which takes the date your hours changed.

Part-time vs casual

Section 95 of the Fair Work Act says paid personal/carer’s leave applies to “employees, other than casual employees”. Casuals are paid a casual loading instead and can take 2 days of unpaid carer’s leave each time it is needed. Part-timers can take unpaid carer’s leave too, but the Fair Work Ombudsman says full-time and part-time employees “can only get unpaid carer’s leave if they don’t have any paid sick / carer’s leave left”. If you have run out, see unpaid sick leave. If you are called casual but work regular, ongoing hours, read casual vs permanent.

Does it differ by state?

For employees in the national system, no: the 1/26 rule is the same in Victoria, NSW, Queensland and every other state and territory. Western Australia’s state system has its own rule. The WA Government says full-time and part-time employees are entitled to paid personal leave “equal to the number of hours the employee is ordinarily required to work in a 2 week period during that year, up to 76 hours”. It accrues weekly, at 1.461 hours on a 38-hour week, and carries over. For a part-timer that is the same two weeks of hours; the 76-hour cap only bites above 38 hours a week. Casuals in the WA state system get no paid personal leave either.

Related calculators and guides

• Sick leave calculator for the general rules on personal and carer’s leave.
• Accrued sick days calculator to count the balance you have banked since you started.
• Part-time annual leave calculator, the same pro-rata idea for annual leave.
• Annual leave hours to days calculator to convert a balance at your own day length.
• Casual loading calculator if you are weighing casual against part-time.
• Sick day reasons, what sick leave can be used for.
• Unpaid sick leave, when your balance runs out.
• Do casuals get sick leave?