Australian accountant Adam Jacobson has warned employees to consider taking accrued annual leave before resigning, because unused leave paid with a final salary generally does not attract superannuation contributions. Taking the leave, or cashing it out while still employed, is usually treated as qualifying earnings, requiring the employer to pay the 12 per cent super guarantee.

For an employee earning $100,000 annually, four weeks’ leave could be worth about $7,700, generating roughly $923 in super contributions. Jacobson said workers expecting a pay rise might benefit from waiting to use or cash out leave at the higher rate, although redundancies may leave employees unable to avoid receiving unpaid leave without super.