How to Calculate Leave Loading (With Examples)
Calculate leave loading step by step, with worked dollar examples at 17.5% on four weeks of leave across common Australian salaries.
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How Leave Loading Is Calculated
Leave loading (also called annual leave loading) is an extra payment on top of your base pay while you're on annual leave — most commonly 17.5% of your base pay for the period of leave taken. It exists because many awards were written on the assumption that staff on leave miss out on overtime, shift penalties or other extras they'd normally pick up at work, so the loading compensates for that gap.
Whether you get it at all, and at exactly what rate, depends on your award, enterprise agreement or employment contract. 17.5% is the figure used in most modern awards that include a loading clause, but some agreements set a different rate or none at all — check your award before assuming it applies to you.
The Leave Loading Formula, Step By Step
The calculation is the same regardless of salary:
- Find your weekly base rate. Divide your annual salary by 52, or use your ordinary hourly rate multiplied by your ordinary weekly hours.
- Multiply by the number of weeks of leave. This gives your base pay for the leave period.
- Multiply that base pay figure by 17.5%. This is the loading amount.
- Add the loading to the base pay. The total is what should land in your pay for that leave period.
As a formula: Loading = weekly base rate × weeks of leave × 0.175.
Worked Example: 17.5% Loading on Four Weeks of Leave
Take a salary of $75,000 a year. The weekly base rate is $75,000 ÷ 52 = $1,442.31. Four weeks of annual leave at that rate is a base payment of $5,769.23. Apply 17.5% loading — $5,769.23 × 0.175 = $1,009.62 — and the total leave payment comes to $6,778.85, around $1,010 more than base pay alone.
Taking two weeks instead of the full four-week entitlement roughly halves both figures: a base payment of $2,884.62, loading of $504.81, for a total of $3,389.42. The loading always scales with the number of weeks actually taken, not with your full annual entitlement.
Leave Loading By Common Salary
These figures illustrate the common 17.5% rate, and the dollar amount rises with salary — but confirm your own award or agreement's rate before relying on them, since some set a different percentage or the higher of 17.5% and the penalty/overtime rates you'd have earned. Here's what four weeks of leave loading looks like at common salary levels at the 17.5% rate:
| Annual salary | Weekly base rate | 4 weeks base pay | 17.5% loading | Total leave payment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $60,000 | $1,153.85 | $4,615.38 | $807.69 | $5,423.08 |
| $70,000 | $1,346.15 | $5,384.62 | $942.31 | $6,326.92 |
| $80,000 | $1,538.46 | $6,153.85 | $1,076.92 | $7,230.77 |
| $90,000 | $1,730.77 | $6,923.08 | $1,211.54 | $8,134.62 |
| $100,000 | $1,923.08 | $7,692.31 | $1,346.15 | $9,038.46 |
Does Everyone Get Leave Loading?
No. Leave loading isn't a universal minimum standard — it's an entitlement written into specific modern awards, enterprise agreements or employment contracts. Many awards in retail, manufacturing, clerical and hospitality include a 17.5% clause; some salaried and award-free roles don't get it at all, or have it already folded into an annualised salary that's set above the award rate. Confirm your own rate against your award or agreement before relying on these figures for payroll or budgeting.
Leave Loading When You Leave a Job
When employment ends, any accrued but unused annual leave is paid out — and that payout typically includes leave loading if your award or agreement specifies you'd have been paid it had you taken the leave while still employed. It's generally calculated at the same 17.5% rate, applied to your final base pay rate for the equivalent weeks owing. If your award or agreement is silent on loading, only the base leave value is paid out on termination. Check your payslip or ask payroll which basis was used for your final payment.
Plan Leave Around the Loading
Because loading is paid on the leave you take rather than the leave you accrue, the dollar figure depends mostly on how many weeks you take, not when you take them. Timing still matters for getting more days off out of the same leave balance — the Leave Planner shows how to stack leave around public holidays and long weekends for extra days away without spending extra leave. For the underlying rules on when loading applies and how it interacts with your award, see our guide to what leave loading is and how it works.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate leave loading step by step?
Work out your weekly base rate (annual salary ÷ 52, or hourly rate × weekly hours), multiply it by the number of weeks of leave being paid, then multiply that base pay figure by 17.5% to get the loading. Add the loading to the base pay for your total leave payment.
How much is 17.5% leave loading on four weeks of annual leave?
It depends on your salary. On a $75,000 salary, four weeks of base pay is $5,769.23, and 17.5% loading on that adds $1,009.62 — a total leave payment of $6,778.85. Use the table above or the formula to work out your own figure at a different salary.
How is leave loading worked out for common salaries?
Loading scales directly with salary: it's always 17.5% of the base pay for the leave period taken, so a higher salary produces a higher loading payment in dollar terms even though the percentage rate stays fixed at 17.5%.
Does leave loading get paid on unused leave when you leave a job?
Usually yes, if your award or agreement provided for it during employment — the unused leave payout on termination generally includes the loading, calculated the same way as if you'd taken the leave. Some awards and agreements don't include a loading clause at all, in which case only the base leave value is paid out.
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