Pastoral Award 2020 — FWC Award text hosted by the Fair Work Ombudsman

FWC · MA000035 · Clause 20

20. Annual leave

20.1 Annual leave is provided for in the NES.

20.2 Conversion to hourly entitlement

An employer may reach agreement with the majority of employees concerned to convert the annual leave entitlement in section 87 of the Act to an hourly entitlement for administrative ease (e.g. 152 hours for a full-time employee entitled to 4 weeks’ annual leave (4 weeks x 38 hours per week)).

20.3 Payment for period of annual leave

(a) An employee (other than a pieceworker) under this award, before going on annual leave, must be paid the wages they would have received in respect of the ordinary hours the employee would have worked had the employee not been on leave during the relevant period.

(b) Clause 20.3(a) will apply instead of the base rate of pay as referred to in section 90(1) of the Act.

NOTE: Where an employee is receiving over-award payments such that the employee’s base rate of pay is higher than the rate specified under this award, the employee is entitled to receive the higher rate while on a period of paid annual leave (see sections 16 and 90 of the Act).

20.4 Electronic funds transfer (EFT) payment of annual leave

Despite anything else in clause 20, an employee paid by electronic funds transfer (EFT) may be paid in accordance with their usual pay cycle while on paid annual leave.

20.5 Annual leave loading

An employee must also be paid a loading calculated on the wages prescribed by this award. The loading must be as follows:

(a) Other than shiftworkers

(i) An employee other than a shiftworker must be paid a loading equal to 17.5% of the wages prescribed by this award for the ordinary hours of work.

(ii) Where an employee is rostered to work ordinary weekly hours on days which attract penalty rates and the employee would have earned a greater amount than the amount provided in clause 20.5(a)(i) but for the period of leave then the employee will be paid the amount they would have earned for the ordinary hours worked instead of the 17.5% loading.

(b) Shiftworkers

An employee who would have worked on shiftwork had they not been on leave must be paid a loading equal to 17.5% of the wages prescribed by this award or the shift loading including relevant weekend penalty rates, whichever is the greater but not both.

20.6 Excessive leave accruals: general provision

NOTE: Clauses 20.6 to 20.8 contain provisions, additional to the NES, about the taking of paid annual leave as a way of dealing with the accrual of excessive paid annual leave. See Part 2.2, Division 6 of the Act.

(a) An employee has an excessive leave accrual if the employee has accrued more than 8 weeks’ paid annual leave.

(b) If an employee has an excessive leave accrual, the employer or the employee may seek to confer with the other and genuinely try to reach agreement on how to reduce or eliminate the excessive leave accrual.

(c) Clause 20.7 sets out how an employer may direct an employee who has an excessive leave accrual to take paid annual leave.

(d) Clause 20.8 sets out how an employee who has an excessive leave accrual may require an employer to grant paid annual leave requested by the employee.

20.7 Excessive leave accruals: direction by employer that leave be taken

(a) If an employer has genuinely tried to reach agreement with an employee under clause 20.6(b) but agreement is not reached (including because the employee refuses to confer), the employer may direct the employee in writing to take one or more periods of paid annual leave.

(b) However, a direction by the employer under clause 20.7(a):

(i) is of no effect if it would result at any time in the employee’s remaining accrued entitlement to paid annual leave being less than 6 weeks when any other paid annual leave arrangements (whether made under clause 20.6, 20.7 or 20.8 or otherwise agreed by the employer and employee) are taken into account; and

(ii) must not require the employee to take any period of paid annual leave of less than one week; and

(iii) must not require the employee to take a period of paid annual leave beginning less than 8 weeks, or more than 12 months, after the direction is given; and

(iv) must not be inconsistent with any leave arrangement agreed by the employer and employee.

(c) The employee must take paid annual leave in accordance with a direction under clause 20.7(a) that is in effect.

(d) An employee to whom a direction has been given under clause 20.7(a) may request to take a period of paid annual leave as if the direction had not been given.

NOTE 1: Paid annual leave arising from a request mentioned in clause 20.7(d) may result in the direction ceasing to have effect. See clause 20.7(b)(i).

NOTE 2: Under section 88(2) of the Act, the employer must not unreasonably refuse to agree to a request by the employee to take paid annual leave.

20.8 Excessive leave accruals: request by employee for leave

(a) If an employee has genuinely tried to reach agreement with an employer under clause 20.6(b) but agreement is not reached (including because the employer refuses to confer), the employee may give a written notice to the employer requesting to take one or more periods of paid annual leave.

(b) However, an employee may only give a notice to the employer under clause 20.8(a) if:

(i) the employee has had an excessive leave accrual for more than 6 months at the time of giving the notice; and

(ii) the employee has not been given a direction under clause 20.7(a) that, when any other paid annual leave arrangements (whether made under clause 20.6, 20.7 or 20.8 or otherwise agreed by the employer and employee) are taken into account, would eliminate the employee’s excessive leave accrual.

(c) A notice given by an employee under clause 20.8(a) must not:

(i) if granted, result in the employee’s remaining accrued entitlement to paid annual leave being at any time less than 6 weeks when any other paid annual leave arrangements (whether made under clause 20.6, 20.7 or 20.8 or otherwise agreed by the employer and employee) are taken into account; or

(ii) provide for the employee to take any period of paid annual leave of less than one week; or

(iii) provide for the employee to take a period of paid annual leave beginning less than 8 weeks, or more than 12 months, after the notice is given; or

(iv) be inconsistent with any leave arrangement agreed by the employer and employee.

(d) An employee is not entitled to request by a notice under clause 20.8(a) more than 4 weeks’ paid annual leave in any period of 12 months.

(e) The employer must grant paid annual leave requested by a notice under clause 20.8(a).

20.9 Annual leave in advance

(a) An employer and employee may agree in writing to the employee taking a period of paid annual leave before the employee has accrued an entitlement to the leave.

(b) An agreement must:

(i) state the amount of leave to be taken in advance and the date on which leave is to commence; and

(ii) be signed by the employer and employee and, if the employee is under 18 years of age, by the employee’s parent or guardian.

NOTE: An example of the type of agreement required by clause 20.9 is set out at Schedule F—Agreement to Take Annual Leave in Advance. There is no requirement to use the form of agreement set out at Schedule F—Agreement to Take Annual Leave in Advance.

(c) The employer must keep a copy of any agreement under clause 20.9 as an employee record.

(d) If, on the termination of the employee’s employment, the employee has not accrued an entitlement to all of a period of paid annual leave already taken in accordance with an agreement under clause 20.9, the employer may deduct from any money due to the employee on termination an amount equal to the amount that was paid to the employee in respect of any part of the period of annual leave taken in advance to which an entitlement has not been accrued.

20.10 Transfer of business

Where a business is transferred from one employer to another, employees formerly employed by the old employer will be deemed to have served any applicable probationary period with that employer. Employees will not be required to serve any probationary period for any purpose in relation to their employment with the new employer.

20.11 Proportionate leave on termination

On termination of employment, an employee must be paid for leave accrued (including shift loadings) that has not been taken at the appropriate rate calculated in accordance with this award.

20.12 Cashing out of annual leave

(a) Paid annual leave must not be cashed out except in accordance with an agreement under clause 20.12.

(b) Each cashing out of a particular amount of paid annual leave must be the subject of a separate agreement under clause 20.12.

(c) An employer and an employee may agree in writing to the cashing out of a particular amount of accrued paid annual leave by the employee.

(d) An agreement under clause 20.12 must state:

(i) the amount of leave to be cashed out and the payment to be made to the employee for it; and

(ii) the date on which the payment is to be made.

(e) An agreement under clause 20.12 must be signed by the employer and employee and, if the employee is under 18 years of age, by the employee’s parent or guardian.

(f) The payment must not be less than the amount that would have been payable had the employee taken the leave at the time the payment is made.

(g) An agreement must not result in the employee’s remaining accrued entitlement to paid annual leave being less than 4 weeks.

(h) The maximum amount of accrued paid annual leave that may be cashed out in any period of 12 months is 2 weeks.

(i) The employer must keep a copy of any agreement under clause 20.12 as an employee record.

NOTE 1: Under section 344 of the Act, an employer must not exert undue influence or undue pressure on an employee to make, or not make, an agreement under clause 20.12.

NOTE 2: Under section 345(1) of the Act, a person must not knowingly or recklessly make a false or misleading representation about the workplace rights of another person under clause 20.12.

NOTE 3: An example of the type of agreement required by clause 20.12 is set out at Schedule G—Agreement to Cash Out Annual Leave. There is no requirement to use the form of agreement set out at Schedule G—Agreement to Cash Out Annual Leave.

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Official document

Pastoral Award 2020 — FWC Award text hosted by the Fair Work Ombudsman ↗

Version

This Fair Work Commission consolidated modern award incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 July 2026 (PR799280, PR799316 and PR799473). ↗

Citation verified

26 Oct 2026

Operative note

Based on the current consolidated Award text incorporating amendments up to and including 1 July 2026. That consolidation date is not the commencement date of every provision; check the relevant variation and operative conditions when assessing an earlier period.