Leave Days Calculator South Africa: Estimate Your Annual Leave Balance
Work out how much annual leave you have accrued, how many days remain, and what that balance is worth in Rand. Enter your salary, work week and months of service to get an instant leave balance and payout estimate under the BCEA.
Calculate My Leave Days ↓Annual Leave Balance Calculator
Enter your details below, then press Calculate to see your leave balance and payout value.
Your Remaining Leave Balance
0 days
Worth R0 if paid out
Leave breakdown
| Component | Basis | Amount |
|---|
This estimate applies the BCEA annual leave accrual formula to your work week and months of service.
Under the BCEA, employees earn 21 consecutive days of annual leave per 12-month leave cycle, which works out to 15 working days for a 5-day work week or 18 working days for a 6-day work week. Leave accrues at roughly 1.25 or 1.5 days per month worked. Your remaining balance is your accrued leave minus any leave already taken, and if you leave your job, any unused annual leave must be paid out at your daily rate. Use the calculator above for your own estimate, and confirm your exact balance with your employer or payslip.
How to Use the Leave Days Calculator
Three quick steps to an estimated leave balance.
- 1 Enter your monthly salary. This is used to work out the Rand value of your unused leave.
- 2 Select your work week and add your months worked and leave taken. These determine your accrued entitlement and remaining balance.
- 3 Press Calculate. Your accrued leave, remaining balance and payout value appear instantly, with a full breakdown. Use “Copy Result” to save it.
The Leave Days Calculation Formula
Leave is built up gradually over your leave cycle, based on your work week.
Leave Accrued = ( Months Worked / 12 ) x Annual Entitlement
Leave Remaining = Leave Accrued – Leave Already Taken
Daily Rate = Monthly Salary / 21.67
Leave Payout Value = Leave Remaining x Daily Rate
21.67 is the average number of working days in a month, used to convert a monthly salary into a daily rate for leave purposes.
Worked Examples
Real calculations using the BCEA annual leave formula, so you can see exactly how a leave balance is built.
Example 1: R15,000 per month, 5-day week, 6 months worked, no leave taken
| Annual entitlement: 15 days | Leave accrued: 7.5 days |
| Leave taken: 0 days | Leave remaining: 7.5 days |
| Daily rate: R692.20 | Leave payout value: R5,191.50 |
Example 2: R9,000 per month, 6-day week, 12 months worked, 5 days taken
| Annual entitlement: 18 days | Leave accrued: 18 days |
| Leave taken: 5 days | Leave remaining: 13 days |
| Daily rate: R415.32 | Leave payout value: R5,399.16 |
Example 3: R32,000 per month, 5-day week, 18 months worked, 10 days taken
| Annual entitlement: 15 days | Leave accrued: 22.5 days |
| Leave taken: 10 days | Leave remaining: 12.5 days |
| Daily rate: R1,476.83 | Leave payout value: R18,460.38 |
Leave Days in South Africa: The Complete Guide
The Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) sets the minimum leave every employee in South Africa is entitled to. Annual leave is the most commonly tracked type, but the BCEA also covers sick leave, family responsibility leave and maternity leave, each with its own rules.
Annual leave entitlement
Section 20 of the BCEA entitles employees to 21 consecutive days of annual leave on full pay per 12-month leave cycle. Since 21 consecutive days includes weekends, this equals 15 working days for an employee on a 5-day work week, or 18 working days for an employee on a 6-day work week. Leave accrues progressively from the first day of employment, rather than all at once.
How annual leave accrues
| Work Week | Annual Entitlement | Approximate Monthly Accrual |
|---|---|---|
| 5-day week | 15 working days | 1.25 days per month |
| 6-day week | 18 working days | 1.5 days per month |
Leave payout when you leave a job
Under Section 40 of the BCEA, an employer must pay out any accrued but unused annual leave when employment ends, whether through resignation, dismissal or retrenchment. The payout is calculated by multiplying the remaining leave days by your daily rate, commonly worked out as monthly salary divided by 21.67. Annual leave may not be paid out in cash while you are still employed, except for any leave your employer grants above the statutory minimum.
Sick leave
Employees are entitled to 30 working days of paid sick leave over a 36-month cycle for a 5-day work week, or 36 days for a 6-day work week. During the first 6 months of employment, sick leave accrues at 1 day for every 26 days worked. An employer may require a medical certificate for absences of more than 2 consecutive days, or repeated absences within an 8-week period.
Family responsibility leave
Employees who have worked for at least 4 months and work at least 4 days a week for their employer are entitled to 3 days of paid family responsibility leave per year, for the birth or illness of a child, or the death of a spouse, life partner, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild or sibling.
Maternity leave
Employees are entitled to at least 4 consecutive months of maternity leave. The BCEA does not require employers to pay employees during this leave, though many do as part of their employment contract. Unpaid maternity leave can qualify for UIF maternity benefits.
Methodology
This calculator determines your annual entitlement from your work week, accrues leave proportionally to the months you specify, subtracts any leave already taken to get your remaining balance, then values that balance using a daily rate of monthly salary divided by 21.67.
Assumptions used in this calculator
- This calculator covers annual leave only, not sick, family responsibility or maternity leave.
- Salary is entered as a gross monthly figure before any deductions.
- Months worked should reflect your current leave cycle, or the period since your leave balance was last reset.
- This calculator does not account for leave in excess of the statutory minimum that some employers offer.
Frequently Asked Questions
It estimates your accrued annual leave, your remaining balance after any leave taken, and what that balance is worth in Rand if it were paid out, based on the BCEA statutory minimum.
The BCEA minimum is 21 consecutive days per 12-month leave cycle, which equals 15 working days for a 5-day work week or 18 working days for a 6-day work week. Your employment contract may provide more.
No, not for the statutory minimum. Annual leave may only be paid out in cash when your employment ends. Leave granted above the statutory minimum may be treated differently, depending on your contract.
No. If a public holiday falls within a period of annual leave, it is not counted as one of your leave days.
Your employer must pay out any accrued but unused annual leave in your final payslip, calculated at your daily rate. This applies whether you resign, are dismissed or are retrenched.
No. This tool gives a planning estimate based on the statutory minimum. Company leave policies, leave carried over from previous cycles, or contractual leave above the BCEA minimum can all change your actual balance, so always check your payslip or HR system.