Editorial Policy
How LeaveCalculators.com researches employment rules, turns them into calculator logic, reviews every page, corrects mistakes and keeps changing statutory information current.
Every calculator and employment-rights guide on LeaveCalculators.com is intended to be traceable, reviewable and date-aware. We research the applicable rule from official legislation, government guidance or the responsible employment authority; identify who the rule applies to; translate it into visible calculator logic; test normal and edge-case inputs; disclose assumptions and limitations; and review material changes before updating the page. We do not publish a statutory figure merely because another website, search result or AI system says it is correct.
Why we have an editorial policy for calculators
A calculator can feel more objective than an article because it returns a number. That does not make it automatically reliable. The number depends on decisions made before the user ever sees the form: which law applies, which version of that law is in force, what counts as service, whether a cap applies, how irregular work is handled, what period should be averaged and whether the user is actually eligible for the entitlement being calculated.
For that reason, we treat calculator logic as editorial content. A formula has to be sourced and reviewed just as carefully as a written statement. If an underlying rule changes, updating a paragraph while leaving the JavaScript untouched would not be a meaningful correction. The explanation, inputs, formula, examples, result text, structured data and verification date must stay aligned.
Our aim is simple: a user should be able to understand where a result came from, what assumptions sit behind it and when they should not rely on it. That standard applies whether the page concerns annual leave, holiday pay, sick leave, parental leave, redundancy, vacation pay or another statutory employment calculation.
Our core editorial standards
These principles guide both new pages and updates to existing calculators. They are deliberately practical: each one should change how a page is researched, built or maintained.
No invented statistics or unsupported precision
We do not create percentages, “average” entitlements, legal thresholds or prevalence claims because they make a page sound authoritative. A figure must be supported by a source appropriate to the claim. Where the official rule is conditional, we preserve the condition rather than removing it for a cleaner sentence.
No universal answer where the law is regional
Some employment systems require jurisdiction-specific treatment. Canada has provincial, territorial and federal labour jurisdictions. The United States combines federal rules with state and sometimes local requirements. Australian long service leave can depend on state or territory law. A calculator should not quietly substitute one jurisdiction’s rule for an entire country.
Statutory minimums are not the same as contractual rights
An employer may provide leave or pay above the statutory minimum through an employment contract, collective agreement, workplace policy, award or registered agreement. Unless a calculator explicitly asks for those enhanced terms, its result should be described as a statutory estimate rather than as the user’s complete contractual entitlement.
What counts as a reliable source?
Our Sources page lists the main authorities used across the site. In general, our research starts with the legal text and then uses official explanatory material to understand how the rule is applied in practice.
Legislation and regulations
Acts, regulations, statutory instruments and official legislation databases establish the legal framework. These are especially important where a simplified government page omits an exception or definition relevant to the calculation.
Government departments
Official guidance often explains eligibility, calculation steps, examples and effective dates more clearly than the underlying legislation. It is useful for converting a legal rule into understandable inputs and outputs.
Employment regulators and statutory bodies
Authorities such as Acas, the Fair Work Ombudsman and the Workplace Relations Commission provide practical guidance on employment rights and workplace application.
Regional authorities
State, provincial and territorial sources are used where the national source does not control the entitlement. We do not downgrade a local legal rule simply because a federal page is easier to cite.
How a calculator moves from research to publication
Our workflow is designed to catch the kinds of mistakes that are easy to hide inside a polished calculator: using the wrong jurisdiction, applying a future rule too early, forgetting a statutory cap, rounding at the wrong stage or giving the same answer to workers with materially different work patterns.
Define the question and jurisdiction
We first identify what the calculator is actually meant to answer and the legal system it belongs to. A page called “holiday calculator” is too vague until the country, entitlement and relevant worker group are clear.
Find the controlling official sources
We locate the legislation, government guidance and regulator material that support the entitlement, calculation method, eligibility rules and effective date. A page is not built around an unsourced number found in a competitor’s tool.
Extract the conditions, not just the headline number
We record service requirements, earnings tests, reference periods, work-pattern rules, caps, exclusions and known special cases. These details determine which inputs the calculator needs and what the result can responsibly claim.
Translate the rule into calculator logic
The formula is implemented in a way that keeps the source rule recognizable. Where there are multiple valid calculation paths, the tool either asks for the information needed to choose one or states the assumption being used.
Test ordinary and boundary cases
We test common inputs as well as zero values, caps, partial periods, unusually high or low figures, invalid combinations and other boundary conditions relevant to the tool. A calculator that works only for the example used while coding is not ready to publish.
Write the explanation around the result
The page explains what the result means, which formula was applied, what it assumes and what the calculator does not cover. Worked examples are used where they make the rule easier to check manually.
Publish with a visible verification date
Pages display when their rates or rules were last checked. That date is intended to describe the underlying review, not simply the day a heading, design element or unrelated paragraph was edited.
Our policy on AI and editorial tools
Software tools can help with repetitive publishing work, code review, formatting, information organization and drafting. They do not replace source verification. Employment rules are particularly vulnerable to confident but outdated summaries because models and search systems may combine rules from different years or jurisdictions.
For statutory claims on LeaveCalculators.com, the controlling question is therefore not “did an AI system produce this?” but “can this statement and formula be verified against the current official source?” No model output is treated as legal authority, and an apparently plausible rate is not published merely because it appears consistently across generated answers.
Where editorial or coding tools are used during production, substantive claims, formulas, dates and eligibility conditions still require human review against the official material. Generated wording may be rewritten or removed if it overstates certainty, invents a source, blurs different jurisdictions or adds detail the source does not support.
How we write for people, search engines and answer systems
LeaveCalculators.com is designed to be understandable without forcing a user to decode legal language. That means we use descriptive headings, direct answers, visible formulas, worked examples, short definitions and structured FAQs where they genuinely help.
We also structure pages so search engines and AI answer systems can identify the jurisdiction, applicable rule, source and limitations. However, optimization does not justify changing the meaning of the underlying rule. We do not add unsupported “facts” simply to target a keyword, repeat a phrase unnaturally for ranking, or manufacture a definitive answer when the source itself requires context.
Where a simple answer is possible, we give it early. Where the correct answer is “it depends,” we explain what it depends on. That is more useful than stretching a conditional employment rule into a one-line claim designed only to win a featured snippet.
How we keep changing employment rules current
There is no single date on which every leave rule across six countries changes. Some rates update annually, some entitlements change after legislation is enacted, and state or provincial rules can change independently. We therefore do not treat one annual sitewide review as enough.
| Update trigger | What we review | Typical action |
|---|---|---|
| New statutory rate | Rate, cap, qualifying period, selected-year logic and worked examples | Update the calculator for the correct effective date and re-test affected outputs |
| New legislation | Commencement date, scope, transitional rules and required inputs | Explain future change without applying it before it comes into force |
| Guidance revision | Whether the change alters the formula, eligibility, examples or only wording | Change calculator logic only where the underlying rule or interpretation requires it |
| Reported error | Claim, formula, source, code path and related pages | Correct confirmed errors and review whether the same issue appears elsewhere |
| Broken source link | Replacement official page and whether its substantive guidance also changed | Repair the citation and verify the underlying content at the same time |
Passed does not always mean in force
A particularly important distinction is the gap between a law being announced, enacted and becoming operative. New Zealand provides a current example: the Employment Leave Act 2026 has been enacted, but the existing Holidays Act framework continues until the new law starts on 6 August 2028. We may explain an upcoming change, but a current calculator must continue using the rule actually in force.
We do not assume a promised increase happened
Policy plans can change. Ireland’s statutory sick leave illustrates why we verify the present rule rather than relying on an old rollout timetable. Although earlier plans contemplated further increases, the official position retained the statutory entitlement at five days. When the current authority and an older announcement differ, the current applicable rule controls the calculator.
How we handle uncertainty, disagreements and edge cases
Employment law does not always reduce to one universal formula. Some results depend on facts that a short web form cannot establish: whether someone is legally an employee or worker, whether a workplace falls within federal or provincial jurisdiction, whether a contractual scheme is more generous, whether a particular payment counts in an averaging calculation, or how a court decision affects an unusual scenario.
When the source does not support one safe automated answer, we do not hide that difficulty. Depending on the situation, we may narrow the calculator’s stated scope, add another input, identify the assumption being made, show more than one possible path, or explain that the scenario requires individual advice.
We also distinguish between a genuine legal disagreement and a simple lack of research. “The rule is contested” is not a substitute for checking the legislation. Uncertainty is disclosed only after the relevant sources have been reviewed and there is a real reason that one automated answer would be misleading.
Corrections policy
Employment rules change, government pages move and mistakes can happen. We want correction reports because a statutory calculator is most useful when its assumptions are open to challenge and its sources can be checked by the reader.
What to send us
Include the page URL, the figure or wording you believe is wrong, why you think it is incorrect and, where possible, the official source showing the current rule. Specific reports can be reviewed much faster than a general message saying a calculator “looks wrong.”
What we check
We review the relevant official source, effective date, calculator formula, displayed explanation and any related calculators that may use the same rate or logic. A correction may therefore require more than changing one sentence.
What happens after confirmation
Material errors are corrected as soon as practicable. Where the change affects the underlying calculation, the calculator logic is updated and re-tested before the page’s verification information is refreshed.
What does not change the verified date
Minor spelling edits, visual changes or unrelated wording updates do not by themselves mean a statutory rate was rechecked. We avoid using a fresh date to imply a substantive legal review that did not happen.
Editorial independence and commercial content
The result of a statutory calculator should not depend on which product, service or employer would benefit from the answer. Commercial considerations do not change the statutory formula we present. If a page contains advertising, sponsorship or another commercial relationship, that relationship should remain separate from the underlying calculation and should not be presented as official authority.
Likewise, inclusion of a government department, regulator or statutory body as a source does not imply that the organization endorses LeaveCalculators.com. Official sources are cited because they support the rule being explained.
Informational content, not individual legal advice
Our calculators are designed to explain statutory rules and provide estimates from the information a user enters. They cannot investigate a workplace dispute, interpret every contract, decide contested employment status or know facts that were not provided. A correct general formula can still be the wrong answer for an individual case if a special rule or contractual term applies.
For that reason, LeaveCalculators.com should be used as an informational tool rather than as a substitute for legal, payroll, tax or professional employment advice. Our Disclaimer explains these limits in more detail.
Who is responsible for the editorial standard?
Ruby Miller
HR & Employment Law Content Lead
Ruby researches and maintains the employment-rights content behind LeaveCalculators.com, checks official-source changes against calculator logic and reviews the explanations, assumptions and limitations shown to users. Her role is to keep the site’s calculations traceable to the rules they are intended to represent—not to turn general calculators into individual legal advice.
Editorial policy FAQs
Who writes and reviews LeaveCalculators.com?
Calculators and supporting employment-rights content are maintained under the editorial oversight of Ruby Miller, HR & Employment Law Content Lead. Statutory claims and formulas are checked against the relevant official sources before they are treated as verified.
Where do your statutory rates and formulas come from?
They come from official legislation, government guidance, employment regulators and statutory bodies appropriate to the jurisdiction. Our Sources page lists the core authorities used across the site.
Do you use AI to write employment-law content?
Editorial and coding tools may assist with drafting, formatting, organization or review, but AI output is not treated as legal authority. Substantive statutory claims, formulas, effective dates and eligibility conditions must be checked against the official source before publication or verification.
How do you handle laws that have passed but are not yet in force?
We distinguish enactment from commencement. An upcoming law may be explained on the page, but the calculator continues to use the current rule until the new provisions actually take effect.
How often are calculators reviewed?
Reviews follow the change pattern of the underlying rule rather than one arbitrary sitewide date. New statutory rates, enacted legislation, revised official guidance, reported errors and known jurisdiction changes can all trigger review.
What happens if a calculator is wrong?
We check the report against the official source and review the formula, effective date, explanation and related pages. Confirmed material errors are corrected and affected calculator logic is re-tested before verification information is refreshed.
Can a calculator replace legal or payroll advice?
No. Calculators provide general statutory estimates based on the information entered. Contracts, workplace policies, collective agreements, employment status and unusual factual circumstances can change an individual’s actual entitlement.
Found something we should recheck?
Send us the page and the official source you believe changes the answer. We would rather investigate a good correction report than leave an outdated figure live.