Paid Annual Leave in Australia: An Analysis of Actual and Desired Entitlements

Abstract

Most full-time employees in Australia are entitled to four weeks paid annual leave. This paper shows that, when compared to other developed countries, four weeks is towards the lower end of the spectrum of annual leave entitlements for full-time employees. Survey data are presented that show that many full-time employees have difficulty accessing their existing leave entitlements. Data are also presented that suggest that the majority of full-time employees would be willing to trade off a small pay rise to purchase additional annual leave. The results presented above raise significant issues for policy makers. They provide a direct counter to the argument that maximising incomes is the most important objective for policy makers by suggesting that community well being could be significantly enhanced not by producing more but by allowing the preference for more leisure to be realised.