The Cleaning Services Award 2020 covers one of Australia’s most casualised workforces: commercial cleaners, residential cleaning staff, window cleaners, and ground maintenance workers. The award’s leave provisions must navigate a workforce that often works split shifts, multiple employers, and irregular hours — creating compliance challenges that are unique to the cleaning sector.
This guide covers the Cleaning Services Award’s leave entitlements in 2026: annual leave, leave loading, personal/carer’s leave, casual conversion, and the compliance traps that drive underpayment claims across the cleaning industry.
Key takeaways
- Full-time cleaning employees receive 4 weeks annual leave under the Cleaning Services Award.
- The award provides 17.5% leave loading on annual leave, paid on the base rate of pay.
- Full-time employees accrue 10 days personal/carer’s leave per year, consistent with the NES.
- Casual cleaning employees receive 25% loading but no paid leave, and must be offered permanent conversion after 12 months.
- Part-time employees receive pro-rata entitlements based on their ordinary hours.
Annual leave under the Cleaning Services Award
Full-time employees covered by the Cleaning Services Award receive the NES minimum of 4 weeks (152 hours for a 38-hour week) of paid annual leave, accruing progressively based on ordinary hours worked. Overtime, shift penalties, and special allowances do not count toward accrual.
The Cleaning Services Award does not typically provide a fifth week of annual leave for shiftworkers in the same way some other awards do. The NES 4-week minimum applies.
Leave loading
The Cleaning Services Award provides 17.5% leave loading on annual leave, calculated on the base rate of pay. The “greater of” provision applies: the employee receives whichever is higher — the 17.5% loading or the penalty rates they would have earned if working during that period.
For cleaning employees who regularly work weekends — particularly commercial cleaning staff who clean offices on Saturday mornings — the penalty rate equivalent may exceed 17.5%.
Worked example
Carlos works full-time as a commercial cleaner, earning $24.50/hour base rate. He regularly works Saturday mornings at 150%.
- One week of annual leave base pay: 38 hours × $24.50 = $931.00
- Leave loading at 17.5%: $931.00 × 17.5% = $162.93
- Penalty rate equivalent (one Saturday shift at 150%): 7.6 hours × $24.50 × 150% = $279.30 — the difference on that shift alone exceeds $162.93
- Carlos receives: the penalty rate equivalent
Personal/carer’s leave
The Cleaning Services Award follows the NES: full-time employees receive 10 days per year of paid personal/carer’s leave, accruing progressively and accumulating year to year. Part-time employees receive pro-rata entitlements.
Cleaning-specific considerations:
- Many cleaning employees work early morning or late night shifts, which can complicate evidence provision
- Medical certificates or statutory declarations are the standard evidence requirements
- The employer can request evidence but must not impose excessive requirements
Casual employees receive 2 days unpaid carer’s leave per occasion.
Compassionate leave and family leave
All cleaning employees, including casuals, receive 2 days compassionate leave per occasion and 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave per year.
Long service leave
Long service leave is state-based:
| State | Qualification | Entitlement |
|---|---|---|
| Victoria | 7 years | 8.67 weeks; 4.33 weeks per subsequent 5 years |
| NSW | 10 years | 2 months; 1 month per subsequent 5 years |
| Queensland | 10 years | 8.67 weeks; 4.33 weeks per subsequent 5 years |
| South Australia | 10 years | 13 weeks |
Cleaning businesses that operate across multiple states must track state-specific entitlements separately.
Casual employee rules
The cleaning industry has one of the highest casual employment rates in Australia. Casual employees receive the 25% casual loading in lieu of paid leave. Key award provisions:
- Minimum engagement: 3 hours for most casual cleaning employees
- Casual conversion: After 12 months of regular employment, the employer must proactively offer permanent conversion
- Refusal: Only on reasonable business grounds, documented in writing
Cleaning employees who work a regular pattern across multiple clients or sites may accumulate 12 months of continuous employment even if no single engagement lasts that long. The cumulative period counts toward the conversion trigger.
Common compliance traps in cleaning
1. Split shift complications
Many cleaning employees work split shifts (e.g., morning office clean and evening restaurant clean). Split shifts affect the ordinary hours calculation and can complicate leave accrual.
2. Multiple employer engagements
Cleaning employees who work for multiple employers may trigger casual conversion at one employer while remaining casual at another. Each employment relationship is assessed independently.
3. Ignoring the “greater of” test
Weekend commercial cleaning is common. Paying only 17.5% loading without comparing to weekend penalty rates underpays employees who work Saturday shifts.
4. Including allowances in leave accrual
Special allowances — height allowances, chemical handling allowances, and travel payments — are generally excluded from ordinary earnings for leave accrual purposes.
5. Missing casual conversion across clients
Cleaning contractors who assign the same casual employee to the same client for more than 12 months may trigger the casual conversion obligation, even though the employee technically works for the contractor, not the client.
Putting it into practice
Five checks cover most Cleaning Services Award leave compliance:
- Apply the “greater of” test for leave loading against penalty rates on every annual leave payment.
- Track cumulative casual employment across clients and sites for the conversion trigger.
- Correctly calculate ordinary hours for split-shift workers.
- Exclude special allowances from leave accrual calculations.
- Include leave loading in termination payouts where the award requires it.
Tracking leave accrual across split shifts, multiple client engagements, and high casualisation — where the 12-month conversion trigger can be triggered by cumulative employment — is exactly the kind of complexity that creates payroll risk in the cleaning sector. A leave management system built for Australian awards automates these calculations and flags compliance gaps before they become underpayment claims.
Sources
- Cleaning Services Award 2020 — Fair Work Commission
- Annual leave — Fair Work Ombudsman
- Casual employment — Fair Work Ombudsman
- Long service leave — Fair Work Ombudsman
Last updated: 26 July 2026. This article is general guidance, not legal advice. Confirm current award provisions with the Fair Work Ombudsman or an employment lawyer.
Frequently asked questions
How much annual leave do cleaning employees get?
Full-time employees receive 4 weeks (152 hours on a 38-hour week). The Cleaning Services Award does not typically provide an additional week for shiftworkers beyond the NES minimum.
Does the Cleaning Services Award include leave loading?
Yes. The award provides 17.5% leave loading on annual leave, calculated on the base rate. A “greater of” provision applies — the employee receives whichever is higher: the 17.5% or the penalty rates they would have earned if working.
Do casual cleaning employees get paid sick leave?
No. Casual employees do not receive paid personal/carer’s leave. They are entitled to 2 days unpaid carer’s leave per occasion and 2 days paid compassionate leave per occasion.
When must casual cleaning employees be offered permanent conversion?
After 12 months of regular casual employment — including cumulative employment across clients and sites — the employer must proactively offer permanent conversion. Refusal is permitted only on reasonable business grounds and must be documented.
How do split shifts affect leave accrual?
Leave accrues on ordinary hours only. For split-shift workers, ordinary hours must be calculated based on the actual hours worked, not the span between the first and last shift. Split shift allowances, if applicable, may be excluded from ordinary earnings.