How the leave calculator works
Last updated 10 November 2026
Chapter 3 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act sets the minimum leave most employees in South Africa can expect. This page turns those minimums into days for your own working week and shows how much has built up on the date you choose. It does not replace your contract or your employer’s leave policy.
How it works
- Enter the days you work each week and your start date.
- Choose the date to work out leave up to. It starts as today.
- Choose how annual leave builds up, then enter any leave already taken.
- Read the balances. The tool also shows your current cycles and the latest date for granting leave.
Worked example
With the starting figures:
- Working 5 days a week from 3 March 2025, a full annual leave cycle is 15 days.
- Up to 10 November 2026, 25.4 days have built up and the balance is 25.4 days.
- Paid sick leave for the 36 month cycle is 30 days, with 30 days remaining.
Annual leave
Section 20 of the Act gives 21 consecutive days of paid leave in each 12 month cycle. We read that as three weeks, so the working days depend on how many days you work each week: 15 days on a five day week, 18 days on a six day week and 9 days on a three day week. The Act also allows an agreement for one day of leave for every 17 days worked, or one hour for every 17 hours. The Act gives 21 consecutive days a cycle. We turn that into working days as three weeks of the days you work each week. How leave builds up during a cycle is not set out in the Act, so the tool spreads it evenly over the days of the cycle. This is an estimate.
The employer must grant the leave within six months after the end of the cycle in which it accrued. Annual leave cannot be swapped for pay while you work there, except when employment ends. If a public holiday falls on a day you would normally work while you are on annual leave, you get an extra paid day.
Sick leave
Section 22 sets a 36 month sick leave cycle. In that time you are entitled to paid sick leave equal to the days you normally work in 6 weeks. During the first 6 months of employment, you build up one day of paid sick leave for every 26 days worked. An employer may ask for proof of incapacity under section 23, which this tool does not cover.
Family responsibility leave
Section 27 gives 3 days of paid leave in each annual cycle when your child is sick, or when a spouse, life partner, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild or sibling dies. It applies after more than 4 months with the employer, and only if you work at least 4 days a week. A collective agreement can change the number of days. Unused days lapse at the end of the cycle.
Maternity, parental, adoption and commissioning leave
Maternity leave is at least 4 consecutive months. It may start up to 4 weeks before the birth, and the mother may not work for 6 weeks after it unless a doctor or midwife says she is fit. Parental leave is at least 10 consecutive days. An adoptive parent of a child under 2 can take at least 10 weeks, and a commissioning parent in a surrogate motherhood agreement at least 10 weeks, or parental leave instead. When there are two parents, one can take the longer leave and the other parental leave. These leaves are listed in the table, not calculated, because pay for them comes from the Unemployment Insurance Act.
Where the figures come from
All the numbers come from sections 20, 22, 25, 25A, 25B, 25C and 27 of the Act, as published on acts.co.za. We read them on 10 November 2026. The register of figures shows what is confirmed and what is not.
What this page does not cover
Not shown: the date the 2018 parental leave amendments took effect (commentary pages disagreed and we did not find the official proclamation), and the UIF benefit amounts for maternity, parental, adoption and commissioning parental leave, which come from the Unemployment Insurance Act. Pay for leave, proof of incapacity and leave on ending employment are also left out. This is information from public documents, not legal advice.
Things to watch
- Your contract, a collective agreement or a sectoral determination can give more leave than the Act.
- The build-up during a cycle is an estimate. Your employer’s leave records are what count.
Related: the payslip generator, the UIF calculator and the public holidays tool. Read the full disclaimer.