How Many Leaves Per Year in South Africa?
Annual leave is provided under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act after a year of continuous service with an employer. A worker is entitled to 21 days of paid annual leave in a row. A worker may also be entitled to one day of leave for every 17 days worked, or one hour for every 17 hours worked (on mutual agreement).
Basic Conditions of Act
This same Basic Conditions of Employment Act governs leave, working hours, employment contracts, deductions, pay slips, and termination for all employers and employees in South Africa.
When Can Annual Leave Be Taken
An employee is permitted to use all of the leave he has managed to accumulate during the annual leave period on consecutive days. This means that if an employee accumulates 11 days during an annual leave cycle, he is entitled to take those 11 days consecutively, and his employer cannot refuse him authorization to do so.
Conditions of Leave Entitlement
- An employee is entitled to 21 consecutive days of annual leave on full pay in each leave cycle, according to the South African Labor Guide.
- Except as otherwise agreed, any untaken annual leave during an annual leave cycle is automatically carried over to the next annual leave cycle.
- If the employee and the employer cannot agree on when annual leave can be taken, annual leave is taken at the employer’s discretion.
- An employee can hand in a medical certificate if he is deemed unfit for work for a certain period of time. If doctor certifies that he is unfit to work, the employer must credit that employee’s annual leave with the number of days he has been off sick.
- Many businesses closes during the month of December. If that’s the case, the employer has the right to compel employees to take annual leave during the shutdown period. If an employee uses his or her annual leave at a different time of year, the shutdown period will be considered unpaid leave.
- A worker may not be required or permitted to work for an employer during any period of annual leave.
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What Is a Family Responsibility Leave?
Family responsibility leave is a three-day per year full-pay allowance. If an employee does not use the family responsibility leave during any one year, any portion of the allowance remaining at the end of the year is forfeited and does not carry over to the following year.
What Happens When Annual Leave Falls on a Public Holiday?
If a public holiday falls during a period when an employee is on annual leave, and the public holiday falls on a day when the employee would normally work, the employee is entitled to an additional day of annual leave for each such public holiday.
Is a Study Leave Legislated?
There is no such thing as “study leave” in labor law—it does not exist. Nonetheless, some employers provide employees with special leave to help them further their education. However, the organization is under no obligation to provide this leave. If such a requirement exists, the employee must apply for paid annual leave in accordance with the employer’s annual leave policy.
