Most permanent employees in Australia get four weeks of paid annual leave each year. If you work shifts, you may be entitled to five. That extra week is one of the most valuable — and most misunderstood — entitlements in the National Employment Standards (NES), and many shiftworkers never realise they qualify, or assume they do when they do not.
For a full-time employee, one extra week is 38 hours of paid time off. Over a career, that adds up to months of additional leave. This guide explains who qualifies for the fifth week, how the 34 Sundays rule works, how the extra week is paid, and what to do if your employer has only given you four weeks. To put a dollar figure on your balance, try the annual leave calculator.
What the Law Says: 4 Weeks for Most, 5 for Qualifying Shiftworkers
Section 87 of the Fair Work Act 2009 sets out the NES annual leave entitlement. Most permanent employees — full-time and part-time — get four weeks of paid annual leave for each year of service. Part-time employees accrue the same entitlement on a pro-rata basis, based on their ordinary hours.
The same section gives a higher entitlement to a specific group: a shiftworker, as defined for NES purposes, gets five weeks instead of four. The Act does not give one universal definition of “shiftworker”. Whether you count as one depends on the instrument covering your employment — a modern award, an enterprise agreement, or, if you are award- and agreement-free, a test in the Act itself.
Route 1: Your Award or Agreement Defines You as a Shiftworker
For most shiftworkers, qualification comes through their modern award or enterprise agreement. Many awards and agreements define a shiftworker for NES annual leave purposes, commonly as a “seven day shiftworker who is regularly rostered to work on Sundays and public holidays”.
Under this route, the question is not whether your job title includes the word “shift”. It is whether you meet the definition in your award or agreement. That usually means you work in an operation running across seven days, and you are regularly rostered to work on Sundays and public holidays. If your instrument uses different wording, that wording governs.
Do not assume that receiving shift penalties automatically means you qualify for five weeks, or vice versa. Check the annual leave clause and the shiftworker definition in your own instrument.
Route 2: Award- and Agreement-Free Employees
If no modern award or enterprise agreement applies to you, section 87 sets its own test. You qualify only if all of the following are true: you are employed in an enterprise where shifts are continuously rostered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; you are regularly rostered to work those shifts; and you regularly work Sundays and public holidays.
This is a deliberately narrow test, designed for genuinely continuous operations — hospitals, emergency services, continuous-process manufacturing and mining operations that never shut down — rather than workplaces that run occasional evening or weekend shifts. If your workplace closes overnight or on weekends, you are unlikely to meet this test.
The 34 Sundays Rule: What “Regularly” Actually Means
The Fair Work Commission considered what “regularly rostered” means in O’Neill v Roy Hill Holdings [2015] FWC 2461. Its guidance is now widely used as the practical benchmark: “regularly” means being rostered to work at least 34 Sundays and 6 public holidays in a year.
That benchmark matters because it replaces guesswork with a number you can check against a roster. A handful of Sundays a year does not count as regular — 34 is roughly two out of every three Sundays in the year. Note that the 34-and-6 figure is Commission guidance on the meaning of “regularly”, not a separate line in the Act, and awards may phrase the test differently. Counting your rostered Sundays and public holidays over a full year against this benchmark is the sensible starting point — and keep your rosters as evidence.
What Does NOT Qualify: The Monday-to-Friday Trap
A fixed Monday-to-Friday roster does not qualify, even if shifts are involved. For example, an employee rotating between early shifts (6am to 2pm) and afternoon shifts (2pm to 10pm), but only Monday to Friday, is a shiftworker in everyday language. For NES annual leave purposes, however, they do not meet the common award formula, which requires regular Sunday and public holiday work, nor the award-free test, which requires a continuously rostered 24/7 enterprise. The roster must span seven days. The extra week compensates employees whose pattern regularly takes them away from standard weekend and public holiday breaks, not simply employees who start early or finish late.
4 Weeks vs 5 Weeks in Hours and Days
A full-time employee working 38 ordinary hours per week accrues 2.92 hours of annual leave per week. Over a year, four weeks equals 152 hours and five weeks equals 190 hours — a difference of 38 hours, or one full working week.
| Entitlement | Weeks per year | Hours per year (38-hr week) | Days per year (7.6-hr day) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard permanent employee | 4 weeks | 152 hours | 20 days |
| Qualifying shiftworker | 5 weeks | 190 hours | 25 days |
| Extra week (difference) | 1 week | 38 hours | 5 days |
Part-time employees accrue pro-rata. An employee working 19 ordinary hours per week — half of full-time — accrues 76 hours per year at four weeks, or 95 hours at five weeks. Annual leave accrues progressively and carries over year to year; it does not expire at year end.
How Is the Extra Week Paid?
The extra week is paid like the rest of your annual leave: at your base rate of pay for your ordinary hours at the time you take it. It is not paid at a special higher rate — it is simply an additional week of leave.
One important clarification concerns leave loading. The well-known 17.5% annual leave loading is NOT in the Fair Work Act. It exists only where a modern award or enterprise agreement provides it. Some instruments provide loading, some provide a different mechanism, and some provide none. Do not assume you will receive 17.5% loading on your leave — including the extra week — unless your award or agreement says so. Similarly, overtime and penalty rates are not generally included in the base rate for annual leave unless your instrument says otherwise. When you leave a job, untaken annual leave, including any accrued portion of the extra week, is normally paid out on termination at your base rate.
Worked Examples: Who Gets the Extra Week?
Example 1: The hospital nurse
Sarah is a full-time nurse in a hospital ward running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Her rotating roster includes nights, weekends and public holidays — 40 Sundays and 8 public holidays in the past year. Her award describes a seven day shiftworker as one regularly rostered to work Sundays and public holidays. Sarah clearly meets that definition, so she accrues five weeks: 190 hours per year.
Example 2: The factory worker on weekdays only
James works full-time in a food plant, rotating early and afternoon shifts, but the plant operates Monday to Friday only and closes on weekends and public holidays. Although James is a shiftworker in everyday language, he does not qualify for the extra week, because he is not regularly rostered on Sundays and public holidays and his workplace is not a seven-day operation. He accrues four weeks: 152 hours per year.
Example 3: The miner on a continuous roster
Daniel is a full-time miner at a site operating continuously, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including public holidays. His fly-in fly-out roster included 36 Sundays and 7 public holidays last year. He meets the substance of the test — a continuously rostered operation, regular rostering to those shifts, and regular Sunday and public holiday work — so he accrues five weeks: 190 hours per year. The contrast with James is the whole lesson: it is the seven-day, Sunday and public holiday pattern that matters, not the word “shift” in your job.
Part-Time Shiftworkers and Casuals
Part-time shiftworkers who meet the shiftworker definition get five weeks on a pro-rata basis. A part-time nurse working three days a week still gets five weeks — just five shorter weeks, in hours, than a full-time colleague. Casual employees are different: casuals accrue no paid annual leave at all, including the extra week. Instead, they receive 25% casual loading on top of their base rate, intended to compensate for the absence of paid leave and other permanent entitlements. If you move from casual to permanent work, leave accrual starts from your permanent start date.
What to Do If You Are Only Getting 4 Weeks
Start with evidence. Gather a full year of rosters and count your rostered Sundays and public holidays. Check your payslips and leave balance: for a full-time role, does your balance grow at the five-week rate if you qualify? Next, read the annual leave clause and shiftworker definition in your award or agreement together. Then raise it with your employer in writing, setting out the clause you rely on and your roster count. Many shortfalls are payroll errors — a system set to four weeks for everyone — rather than deliberate refusals. If the employer disagrees, seek advice from your union or contact the Fair Work Ombudsman. Do not let the issue drift: leave accrues every pay period, so every period at the wrong rate adds to the shortfall.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do all shiftworkers get 5 weeks of annual leave?
No. Only shiftworkers meeting the definition in their award or agreement, or the Fair Work Act test for a continuously rostered 24/7 enterprise with regular Sunday and public holiday work, get five weeks. A weekday-only roster does not qualify.
What is the 34 Sundays rule?
It is Fair Work Commission guidance from O’Neill v Roy Hill Holdings [2015] FWC 2461: “regularly” means at least 34 Sundays and 6 public holidays rostered in a year. It is a practical benchmark, not a standalone line in the Act.
Is the extra week paid at a higher rate?
No. It is paid at your base rate for ordinary hours, like your other annual leave. Leave loading such as 17.5% applies only if your award or agreement provides it — it is not an NES entitlement.
Do part-time shiftworkers get the extra week?
Yes, pro-rata. A full-time 38-hour employee accrues 190 hours at five weeks; a 19-hour part-time employee accrues 95 hours.
Do casual shiftworkers get 5 weeks of annual leave?
No. Casuals accrue no paid annual leave and instead receive 25% casual loading.
Can I cash out the extra week instead of taking it?
Generally, annual leave must be taken as time off. Cashing out is only allowed in limited circumstances where an award or agreement permits it, usually only if you retain at least four weeks afterwards. Check your instrument first.
Conclusion: Check Your Roster, Not Just Your Job Title
The extra week is worth real money and real rest — 38 extra paid hours a year for a full-time employee — but it is not automatic for everyone who works shifts.
It turns on your award or agreement definition, or the Act’s continuous 24/7 test, and on regular Sunday and public holiday rostering, with 34 Sundays and 6 public holidays a year as the practical benchmark. If you work a seven-day roster with regular Sundays and public holidays, check your leave balance today. If it is growing at four weeks when it should be five, raise it in writing with your roster count in hand. Before planning your next break, run your numbers through the annual leave calculator — then take the leave. That extra week exists because shiftwork takes a toll; use it.