Every school holidays, I see the same question pop up in parent groups: can I just book personal leave to cover the break, rather than eating into my annual leave? I get why people ask. Annual leave never quite stretches across four holiday periods a year, and personal leave is just sitting there. It feels like a shortcut.
It isn’t one, though. Personal leave and school holidays are two different things under Australian workplace law, and mixing them up can land you in a genuinely awkward spot with your employer.
If you’re still working out childcare for the next break, have a look at our guide to planning ahead for school holiday programs while you’re here.
So what is personal leave actually for?
Personal leave, sometimes called sick and carer’s leave, is a proper legal entitlement under the Fair Work Act. Full-time employees get 10 days a year, part-time staff get a pro-rata amount, and it covers two things: you being too sick or injured to work, or you needing to care for an immediate family or household member who’s sick, injured, or in the middle of an unexpected emergency.
According to Fair Work Ombudsman guidance, this leave is tied to illness, injury and genuine emergencies. A school holiday you’ve known about since the term dates were published back in January doesn’t really fit either of those.
There is a small carve-out worth knowing about. Fair Work notes that an “unexpected emergency” for carer’s leave doesn’t have to be medical — picking up a child from school at short notice can count. A one-off situation like that is very different from the two weeks of holidays already sitting on the calendar because term ended in January.
Why I wouldn’t risk it
Employers can ask for evidence when you take personal leave. Single days off are a common trigger for this, and so are ones tacked onto a long weekend or public holiday. If what you tell your employer doesn’t line up with what the leave was really for, that’s not a grey area, it’s a false claim. And it’s not just an uncomfortable conversation if you get caught out. It can knock your standing with your employer for a long time after, and depending on your workplace, it can turn into a disciplinary issue.
None of this applies if your child gets sick during the holidays and you use carer’s leave for that. That’s a completely normal, legitimate use of it. The problem is only ever booking a whole fortnight off under sick leave because school happens to be out.
What actually covers it
Most parents end up just using annual leave. Book it a month or two out if you can, otherwise you’re fighting half the office for the same two weeks in July.
If your annual leave is already used up, ask about unpaid leave. It’s not something you’re automatically owed like sick leave is, your employer has to agree to it, so raise it early rather than assuming it’ll be fine.
There’s also a formal option a lot of parents don’t know about: flexible working arrangements. If you’re a parent of a school-age (or younger) child and you’ve been with your employer at least 12 months, you can put in a written request under the Fair Work Act for things like different start and finish times or working from home on set days. It won’t get you a paid day off, but it can take the edge off the logistics. Fair Work’s fact sheet on flexible working requests walks through how to put it in writing and what your employer has to actually consider.
Term dates go up well in advance, so put your leave request in early rather than waiting until a fortnight out. And if a full two weeks off genuinely isn’t going to happen, a few days of annual leave paired with a vacation care or holiday program booking usually does the job without touching sick leave at all.
Personal leave is there for illness, injury and real emergencies. Not school holidays, no matter how tight your annual leave balance is looking. Annual leave, unpaid leave if your employer’s on board, and a proper flexible working request are what’s actually built for this. Sort it out early and be straight with your employer about what the leave is for, and you won’t have to think about it again.
How does your household handle work around the school holidays? Let me know in the comments, I’m always curious what’s actually working for other parents.
This article is general information only and doesn’t take into account your individual employment circumstances. For advice specific to your situation, contact the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 or check the Fair Work Ombudsman website directly.