Can your workplace force you to take annual leave?

May 31, 2026 — 5:00am

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Something I’m always a bit surprised by when I’m overseas is how shocked some people are about Australia’s annual leave provisions. When I tell them that most workers get four to six weeks of paid leave a year, eyebrows get raised, though admittedly a lot of those eyebrows have been American, who might be lucky to get 10 days a year – and that’s including sick leave!

From these discussions, I’ve always assumed Australia was on the upper end when it came to our leave offerings, but studies show we’re relatively middle of the pack compared to other developed nations when considering our base entitlements.

Where we really start to shine is when things such as long service, carers’ and sick leave get added to the mix where, on some calculations, we come out at the top. And currently unions are pushing for an extra five days of leave to be added each year, which would really cement us as one of the more generous nations.

Despite this, annual leave is generally underutilised by Australian workers. We have roughly 209 million days of annual leave due, a number which has been steadily growing over the........

© The Sydney Morning Herald