1. Wages still owing
Check ordinary hours, overtime, weekend/public-holiday penalties, allowances and other gross pay that should already have been earned before employment ended.
Build the expected pay period →Check award rates →
Australia · Ending employment
What should be in your final pay?
Use this checklist to separate the main possible components of a final payment. Different rules apply to wages, annual leave, notice, redundancy and long service leave, so Check My Money does not combine them into one pretend-exact dollar figure.
Check award rates →
2. Unused annual leave
Unused accumulated annual leave must be paid when employment ends. Any leave loading or other amount that would have been payable on the leave can also matter.
Estimate annual leave balance →3. Notice or pay instead of notice
If the employer ends the employment and the standard notice rules apply, notice can be worked or paid instead. Payment in lieu uses the employee’s full pay rate for the notice period, not just a bare base rate.
Check the NES notice baseline →4. Redundancy, if applicable
A genuine redundancy can involve an NES redundancy entitlement, but small-business exclusions and award, agreement or industry-specific redundancy schemes can change the result.
Check redundancy baseline →5. Long service leave
Long service leave is not one national formula. Entitlement and payout rules can depend on the state or territory, an award or enterprise agreement, or transitional federal arrangements.
Fair Work — long service leave fact sheet →6. Sick / carer’s leave
Unused paid sick and carer’s leave is generally not paid out when employment ends. Keep this balance separate from annual leave when checking a final payment.
Understand the paid leave balance →Timing
When should final pay arrive?
Fair Work says most awards require an employer to pay an employee’s final payment within 7 days after the employment ends, but the applicable award, enterprise agreement or other instrument can set the rule. Payment instead of notice has its own timing requirements.
Fair Work — final pay →Resignation
Giving too little notice can affect the calculation
If an employee resigns without giving the required notice, some awards or agreements allow a limited deduction in specific circumstances. Do not assume an employer can simply keep any amount it chooses.
Fair Work — resignation and notice →Tax
Final-pay tax is not the normal salary calculator
Termination payments, unused leave and employment termination payments can have tax treatment that differs from ordinary salary. Check My Money’s normal income-tax calculators do not model every termination-payment tax rule.
Do not use the regular annual tax result as proof of the tax that should be withheld from a final payment.
Final-pay workflow
Check each component separately.
Pay period → annual leave → notice/redundancy → long service leave → official help if something does not match.