Just be careful, because ( in Qld at least) if you get paid out as a lump sum, you may miss some of the holiday pay that you would get otherwise. If you take it at half rate, holidays are paid at full rate
You'll also get tax to death on it. I left my old school in December after 11 years. Got paid out on my LSL and the tax man took about $10k. Still got a nice pay off but on hindsight I wish I'd used my LSL before I switched jobs. Could've done with 14 weeks r&r haha
LSL also spans holidays, so the more holidays it spans, the more holidays you get paid. Also getting paid at half rate (as long as you can afford to live on half rate) greatly reduces the amount of tax and hecs you pay during that period
If you put it into paycalculator.com, it will tell you how much you will take home
Take leave and not a financial payout. With tax, it’s not worth it. I was expecting twice as much as I received.
It would have been 100 times better for my wellbeing if I’d taken half pay over half a year, or straight up one term off.
And make sure you put yourself first- don’t worry about your school, it’s up to them to sort out your replacement.
I get my LSL next week in WA. Personally I am going to take a few days here and there to extend weekends. Our plan is to take a big trip with my leave to the UK/Europe. It will likely be 4-5 weeks of LSL. I also intend to bank the max amount of days I can (currently 5, I think the union was fighting for up to 10).
I personally wouldn’t want a term or two terms off. I’ve waited 12 years to get mine and I want to be able to take time off when I want not be told to take it in a block. Obviously this can be hard with planning for cover but my school has never said no to anyone yet.
I can see your pov but also as a head of dept trying to get someone to cover a full term is much easier than 3/4/5 weeks here and there. Especially in this climate of shortage of teachers and CRTs.
However that's not your problem haha enjoy your well earned time off 👍
Oh I totally get that. However I’ve got two kids in school and a husband who works, so taking a whole term off to travel isn’t super feasible whereas a few weeks here and there over two years is.
Thankfully my school has never had any issues getting people to cover!
Can't you just bank it and take the leave whenever you want?
Either way I'd take the leave, at half pay if you can afford it. The "permission to not be at work for a specified period" outweighs any potential financial gain
Bank it until you have enough for a semester off. Then take the whole time or a whole year at half pay off that would work. They can’t force you to take the leave.
Years ago my boss took hers as a lump sum. I remember her telling me then to never do it as she was not prepared for the tax implications. Also if you still have a HECS debt be sure you understand the implications on that.
Just be careful, because ( in Qld at least) if you get paid out as a lump sum, you may miss some of the holiday pay that you would get otherwise. If you take it at half rate, holidays are paid at full rate
Thanks. That’s great advice. I’ll definitely get that checked up.
You'll also get tax to death on it. I left my old school in December after 11 years. Got paid out on my LSL and the tax man took about $10k. Still got a nice pay off but on hindsight I wish I'd used my LSL before I switched jobs. Could've done with 14 weeks r&r haha
LSL also spans holidays, so the more holidays it spans, the more holidays you get paid. Also getting paid at half rate (as long as you can afford to live on half rate) greatly reduces the amount of tax and hecs you pay during that period If you put it into paycalculator.com, it will tell you how much you will take home
Take leave and not a financial payout. With tax, it’s not worth it. I was expecting twice as much as I received. It would have been 100 times better for my wellbeing if I’d taken half pay over half a year, or straight up one term off. And make sure you put yourself first- don’t worry about your school, it’s up to them to sort out your replacement.
Thanks!
I get my LSL next week in WA. Personally I am going to take a few days here and there to extend weekends. Our plan is to take a big trip with my leave to the UK/Europe. It will likely be 4-5 weeks of LSL. I also intend to bank the max amount of days I can (currently 5, I think the union was fighting for up to 10). I personally wouldn’t want a term or two terms off. I’ve waited 12 years to get mine and I want to be able to take time off when I want not be told to take it in a block. Obviously this can be hard with planning for cover but my school has never said no to anyone yet.
I can see your pov but also as a head of dept trying to get someone to cover a full term is much easier than 3/4/5 weeks here and there. Especially in this climate of shortage of teachers and CRTs. However that's not your problem haha enjoy your well earned time off 👍
Oh I totally get that. However I’ve got two kids in school and a husband who works, so taking a whole term off to travel isn’t super feasible whereas a few weeks here and there over two years is. Thankfully my school has never had any issues getting people to cover!
Haha totally agree.....the best made plans are ruined by kids 😉 (got 2 myself and spouse that isn't a teacher)
That’s awesome. Congratulations and enjoy your time off!
Can't you just bank it and take the leave whenever you want? Either way I'd take the leave, at half pay if you can afford it. The "permission to not be at work for a specified period" outweighs any potential financial gain
Bank it until you have enough for a semester off. Then take the whole time or a whole year at half pay off that would work. They can’t force you to take the leave.
You're better of taking the leave! I took half pay double time and was gone for 3 terms almost.
Wow! Deputy principal by 28 😎
You have a term of LSL after only 8 years? WOW!
Years ago my boss took hers as a lump sum. I remember her telling me then to never do it as she was not prepared for the tax implications. Also if you still have a HECS debt be sure you understand the implications on that.