Quick answer
Calculate the calendar interval first, then apply the employer's or jurisdiction's continuity rules. The two figures are often different.
Calendar duration versus credited service
The elapsed calendar time between a start date and today is a simple calculation. Credited or continuous service is a policy figure, and it may exclude unpaid leave, career breaks, casual periods before permanent employment, or time with a predecessor employer depending on how a transfer was structured.
Calculate the calendar figure first, because it is the baseline everything else adjusts from. Then apply the specific rules that govern the entitlement, keeping each adjustment as a separate visible line rather than folding them into one number.
Use this guide with the right tool: Open the Long Service Leave Calculator for continuous service duration used when checking long-service entitlements. If the question shifts, compare it with the Years of Service Calculator or the Work Anniversary Calculator.
What typically breaks continuity
Resignation and rehire is the clearest break, though some schemes bridge short gaps. Extended unpaid leave may pause rather than break service. Parental leave is usually protected. Transfers between related entities may or may not preserve continuity depending on the structure and the jurisdiction.
The pattern is that paid absence and protected leave usually count, unpaid absence often does not, and the treatment of anything involving a change of employing entity depends entirely on the specific arrangement. None of this can be inferred from dates alone.
Where the rules come from
Long service leave is unusual in being statutory in some jurisdictions and purely contractual in others. Australian states, for example, each have their own statutory scheme with different qualifying periods and accrual rates. Elsewhere it may be a company benefit with terms set entirely by the employer.
Identify which applies before calculating anything, because the qualifying period, the accrual rate and the continuity rules all come from that source. A figure calculated against the wrong scheme is not an approximation; it is unrelated.
Recording it so it can be checked
A defensible service record contains the recognised start date, the reference date, the calendar duration, each adjustment with its reason, and the resulting credited service. Anyone reviewing it should be able to follow the arithmetic without asking questions.
Keep the reference date in the record. Service duration changes daily, so a figure without its as-at date cannot be verified later and will silently become wrong.
Worked example
None of this is difficult arithmetic. The part worth slowing down for is deciding which convention applies before you start.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Treating calendar duration as credited service. They are different figures. Calculate the first, then apply the scheme's rules to get the second.
- Assuming one national rule. Long service leave is state-based in some countries and contractual in others. Identify the governing scheme first.
- Recording service without an as-at date. The figure changes daily and cannot be verified without knowing when it was calculated.
Use the right calculator
The calculators below apply exactly the method described here, with the assumptions visible on the page.
Frequently asked questions
Does parental leave count towards service?
Usually yes, but the specifics vary by jurisdiction and leave type. Check the applicable rule.
What happens after a resignation and rehire?
Often service restarts, though some schemes bridge short gaps. This is a policy question, not a calendar one.
Can I use this for an entitlement claim?
Use it to prepare the calendar figures. The entitlement itself is determined by the governing scheme and the employer's records.