The National Employment Standards are the floor under every employee in the country — no award or contract can go below them. If you employ (or are employed), here are the leave, notice and redundancy entitlements, including the redundancy quirk that catches people out.
The 11 National Employment Standards
The baseline for every national-system employee: maximum weekly hours (38 plus reasonable extra), requests for flexible work, parental leave, annual leave, personal/carer's plus compassionate plus family-and-domestic-violence leave, community service leave, long service leave, public holidays, notice and redundancy, the Fair Work Information Statement, and superannuation contributions.
Paid leave
- Annual leave: 4 weeks a year (5 for some shiftworkers); part-time pro-rata; casuals get a loading instead of accruing it.
- Personal/carer's: 10 days a year (full-time) for your own illness or to care for immediate family. Casuals get 2 days unpaid carer's leave per occasion.
- Family & domestic violence leave: 10 days paid a year — including casuals.
- Compassionate: 2 days per qualifying event (paid for permanents, unpaid for casuals).
- Annual leave loading (17.5%) is not an NES entitlement — it applies only where an award or agreement provides it.
Parental leave
Up to 12 months unpaid at 12 months' service, with a right to request another 12. Separately, the government Paid Parental Leave scheme (social security, not the NES) runs at the national minimum wage — 24 weeks from 1 July 2025, rising to 26 weeks from 1 July 2026 — with 12% super on PPL from 1 July 2025.
Notice of termination
| Continuous service | Minimum notice |
|---|---|
| 1 year or less | 1 week |
| More than 1 to 3 years | 2 weeks |
| More than 3 to 5 years | 3 weeks |
| More than 5 years | 4 weeks |
Add 1 week if the employee is 45 or older with at least 2 years' service. You can require the notice worked out or pay in lieu at base rate. Serious misconduct (theft, violence, serious safety breaches) allows summary dismissal with no notice — but you still must follow a fair process (see Unfair Dismissal).
Redundancy pay — and the 10-year quirk
For employers with 15 or more employees:
| Continuous service | Redundancy pay |
|---|---|
| 1 to <2 years | 4 weeks |
| 2 to <3 years | 6 weeks |
| 3 to <4 years | 7 weeks |
| 4 to <5 years | 8 weeks |
| 5 to <6 years | 10 weeks |
| 6 to <7 years | 11 weeks |
| 7 to <8 years | 13 weeks |
| 8 to <9 years | 14 weeks |
| 9 to <10 years | 16 weeks |
| 10+ years | 12 weeks |
Yes — it drops at 10+ years. That is a genuine NES quirk (it reflects that long service leave is then available), not a typo. Redundancy is paid at base rate. Small employers (under 15) are exempt from NES redundancy (though an award or EBA may still require it), and some construction awards run their own redundancy schemes above the NES floor.
Common mistakes
- Treating the 17.5% loading as an NES right — it is award-only.
- Missing the extra week of notice for a 45-plus employee with 2+ years.
- Assuming you owe redundancy under 15 employees (or that an award does not override that exemption).
Know someone who needs this?
Was this guide useful?
Didn't find what you were looking for?
Spotted something wrong or out of date? Email us at hello@kilnguides.co.uk.
In crisis? Lifeline 13 11 14 ·