Annual leave in South Africa: what the BCEA requires
How many days your staff are owed, how the leave cycle works, who gets to decide when leave is taken, and what you pay out when somebody leaves.
In short
- The minimum is 21 consecutive days on full pay a year: 15 working days on a five-day week.
- The year is the employee's own leave cycle, which starts on their first day.
- You agree the dates with the employee. If you cannot agree, you may decide.
- You may only pay leave out instead of granting it when employment ends.
How many days
The Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) sets a minimum of 21 consecutive days of annual leave on full pay for every leave cycle (BCEA s20). Because 21 consecutive days include weekends, the figure most people work with is the number of working days that period covers.
| How the person works | Minimum annual leave |
|---|---|
| Five days a week | 15 working days a year |
| Six days a week | 18 working days a year |
| By agreement, earned as they work | 1 day for every 17 days worked, or 1 hour for every 17 hours worked |
These are minimums. Many businesses give 17 or 20 days, and some add days after five or ten years' service. A contract, a bargaining council agreement or a sectoral determination may give more than the Act. None of them may give less.
The leave chapter of the BCEA does not apply to somebody who works fewer than 24 hours a month for you (BCEA s19).
The leave cycle
A leave cycle is twelve months of employment with the same employer, counted from the employee's start date and then from the end of each previous cycle. Somebody who started on 1 June has a cycle from 1 June to 31 May, whatever your financial year is.
Many employers show leave building up month by month, about 1.25 days a month on a five-day week, so staff can see what they have earned so far. That is a sensible way to track it, as long as the year's total adds up to at least the minimum.
Who decides when leave is taken
Annual leave is taken at a time agreed between employer and employee. Where you cannot agree, the employer may decide (BCEA s20(10)). That is what allows a business to close over December and require staff to take leave for those days.
A few limits apply:
- Leave must be granted no later than six months after the end of the cycle in which it was earned (BCEA s20).
- You may not require or allow annual leave to run during other leave, such as sick leave, or during a notice period (BCEA s20).
- If a public holiday falls on a day the person would normally have worked during their leave, they get an extra day of paid leave (BCEA s20).
Paying for leave
Leave is paid at the employee's normal remuneration, either before the leave starts or, by agreement, on the usual pay day (BCEA s21).
You may not pay somebody instead of letting them take their leave while they still work for you. The Act allows pay instead of leave only when employment ends (BCEA s20(11)). A staff member who asks to "sell" their leave cannot do so under the Act, however well meant the request.
Leave that is not taken
Because leave must be granted within six months of the end of its cycle, many employers have a policy that leave not taken by then falls away. Whether leave can be lost in this way is not fully settled, and it depends on what your contracts and leave policy say and on whether the employee was given a fair chance to take it. The safest course is a written leave policy that sets out the rule, and reminding people to book their leave well before it runs out.
When somebody leaves
On termination you must pay the employee for leave they earned and did not take (BCEA s40). That includes leave from the current cycle earned up to their last day.
For somebody paid monthly, a common way to work out a day's pay is the monthly salary divided by 21.67, the average number of working days in a month.
Example. Thandi earns R13,000 a month and has 6 days of leave she has not taken when she resigns. A day's pay is R13,000 ÷ 21.67 = R599.91, so her final pay includes about R3,599 for leave.
If somebody took leave in advance and leaves before earning it back, taking the difference from their final pay is a deduction, and needs their written agreement first (BCEA s34).
How LetterUp handles annual leave
LetterUp works each person's balance out from their own leave cycle, your company's standard days and any extra days for long service. Staff book leave from their phones, managers approve it, the company calendar shows who is away, and the leave owing to a leaver is on their record before their last day. See staff records and leave.
Questions employers ask
How many days of annual leave do South African employees get?
At least 21 consecutive days on full pay for every 12-month leave cycle (BCEA s20). On a five-day week that is 15 working days, and on a six-day week 18. An employer may agree to give more, never less.
Can an employer pay out annual leave instead of letting staff take it?
Not while the person is still employed. The BCEA allows pay instead of leave only when employment ends (BCEA s20(11) and s40). Leave is meant to be taken.
Can an employer decide when staff take annual leave?
Leave is taken at a time agreed between employer and employee. Where they do not agree, the employer may decide (BCEA s20(10)), for example by closing over December, but not during other leave or during a notice period.
What happens to unused annual leave when someone resigns?
Leave earned and not taken must be paid out with the final pay (BCEA s40). A common way to work out a day's pay for a monthly-paid employee is the monthly salary divided by 21.67.
This guide is general information about South African law as it stood on 22 October 2026. It is not legal advice. A bargaining council agreement or sectoral determination may apply different rules to your industry. LetterUp is not a law firm.