Leave and RDOs

Employees can take time off for many reasons, including holidays, sick days or to care for others. These entitlements are set out in the National Employment Standards and modern awards, and apply to employees in the private sector.

Leave

Employees have the right to receive leave entitlements, including:

• Parental leave
• Annual leave
• Personal/carer’s and compassionate leave
• Community service and jury leave
• Long service leave
• Unpaid family and domestic violence leave.

If an employee is covered by an Award or enterprise agreement giving them more leave than allocated in the National Employment Standards, they should receive the higher entitlement.

RDO (Rostered Day Off)

Employees in the building and construction industry typically work a 38-hour week and get one rostered day off (RDO) per month – though RDOs aren’t mandatory under an Award.

The common pattern is to work eight hours per day for 19 days and take off day 20 as an RDO. However, you and your employees may agree to a different pattern of hours, for example working 7.6 hours per day or working eight hours per day from Monday-Thursday and only six hours on Friday.

We’ve produced a  RDO and public holiday calendar exclusively for Master Builders members. You'll need your member login to access and download it.

2022 RDO and public holiday calendar

2021 RDO and public holiday calendar

2020 RDO and public holiday calendar

Need more information?

If you haven’t found the answer to your questions on our website, give us a call or email us.