- Published
18 days after relocating to Brisbane for a short-term handover assignment, the employee resigns and suddenly the business may owe long service leave (LSL).
Most of the employee’s service was completed interstate and overseas over a ten-year period, yet the Queensland LSL entitlement may still be calculated across their entire employment history, not just the time worked in Queensland.
What Happened?
A Queensland Court of Appeal decision Fox v Infosys Technologies [2024] QIRC 109 found that an employee who worked in Brisbane for less than 3 weeks was still entitled to Queensland LSL, with previous service performed interstate and overseas counted towards their qualifying service period.
The decision has significantly expanded potential LSL exposure for employers managing interstate transfers, international secondments, and mobile workforces.
Why employers should be paying attention
Traditionally, long service leave liabilities have accrued gradually over years of local service. Under this interpretation, however, an employee may arrive in Queensland with most of their qualifying service already completed.
This means liability may arise almost immediately after commencing work in Queensland.
For employers, this creates potential risks around:
- Interstate transfers
- International secondments
- Temporary Brisbane deployments
- Employees working across related entities
The ruling also highlighted possible double payment risks, with the Court finding that a previous overseas gratuity entitlement did not prevent a separate Queensland LSL entitlement from applying.
What employers should be reviewing
Employers with mobile workforces should be considering:
- Full employee service histories across all entities and jurisdictions
- How prior service is treated when employees transfer into Queensland
- Whether existing payroll systems can track cross-border service properly
- Potential long service leave exposure before approving transfers or secondments
The unanswered question
The Court confirmed that 18 days of Queensland work was sufficient to establish entitlement, but it did not define a minimum threshold.
So where is the line?
Is it a week? A few days? A single assignment?
Until further clarification is provided, employers should treat even short periods of Queensland work as potentially significant from a long service leave perspective.
Where does this leaves employers
For employers operating across multiple states or countries, Queensland now presents one of the most complex long service leave environments in Australia.
Interstate transfers, international secondments, and even short-term assignments may now create liabilities tied to years of prior service performed elsewhere.
Organisations with mobile workforces should be reviewing their mobility policies, payroll systems, and long service leave assumptions now — before a short assignment becomes a long-term liability.
If you’re unsure how this decision may impact your workforce or long service leave obligations, our team of experts can help you assess your exposure and review your current arrangements.
