People operations and HR outsourcing · · 7 min read · 1,623 words
Annual, sick and family leave under the BCEA, explained
By the LabourLink editorial team. Last reviewed 17 October 2026.
The short answer
Annual leave is at least 21 consecutive days per cycle; sick leave is six weeks' worth of working days over a 36-month cycle; and qualifying employees get three days' paid family responsibility leave per leave cycle. Here is how each works.
The short answer
The Basic Conditions of Employment Act sets minimum leave entitlements for most employees. Annual leave is at least 21 consecutive days per annual leave cycle on full pay, or by agreement one day for every 17 days worked[1]. Sick leave is the number of days an employee would normally work in six weeks, over a 36-month cycle[1]. Family responsibility leave is three days of paid leave per annual leave cycle for qualifying employees[1]. A contract may give more. Some provisions of the Act may be varied by collective or sectoral agreements, so check any agreement that covers your workplace.
This guide is based on the leave provisions of the Act as published by government. Some leave provisions, including those on maternity and parental leave, have been amended since 1997 and have been the subject of recent change, so check the current position for those types of leave before applying them.
Annual leave
How much
The annual leave cycle is the 12 months following the start of employment or the end of the previous cycle[1]. In each cycle, the employer must grant at least 21 consecutive days on full remuneration or, by agreement, one day for every 17 days the employee worked or was entitled to be paid[1]. For an employee who works a five-day week, 21 consecutive days amounts to 15 working days.
When it must be taken
The employer must grant annual leave not later than six months after the end of the cycle[1]. Leave is taken in accordance with an agreement between employer and employee, or, if there is no agreement, at a time the employer determines in accordance with the section[1].
What it may not overlap with
An employer may not require or permit an employee to take annual leave during another period of leave under the Act, or during a notice period[1]. If a public holiday falls during annual leave on a day the employee would ordinarily have worked, the employee gets an additional day of paid leave[1]. And an employer may not require or permit an employee to work for it during annual leave[1].
Pay instead of leave
An employer may not pay an employee instead of granting paid leave except on termination of employment[1]. On termination, the employer must pay for annual leave due and not taken and, if the employee has worked longer than four months, for the incomplete leave cycle[1].
Leave pay
Leave pay must be at least what the employee would have earned for working for the same period, calculated at the rate immediately before the leave[1].
Sick leave
The cycle
The sick leave cycle is 36 months from the start of employment or the end of the previous cycle[1]. In each cycle, the employee is entitled to paid sick leave equal to the number of days they would normally work in six weeks[1]. For a five-day week, that is 30 days over three years.
The first six months
During the first six months of employment, an employee is entitled to one day's paid sick leave for every 26 days worked[1]. The employer may reduce the first cycle's entitlement by the sick leave taken during those first six months[1].
Medical certificates
An employer is not required to pay sick leave if the employee has been absent for more than two consecutive days, or on more than two occasions in an eight-week period, and does not produce a medical certificate when asked[1]. The certificate must be issued by a medical practitioner or another person certified to diagnose and treat patients and registered with a professional council established by an Act of Parliament[1]. If an employee lives on the employer's premises and it is not reasonably practicable to get a certificate, the employer must provide reasonable assistance before withholding pay[1].
Occupational injuries
The sick leave provisions do not apply to an inability to work caused by an accident or occupational disease covered by the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act[1]. Those absences follow a separate process.
Family responsibility leave
Family responsibility leave applies to employees who have been employed for longer than four months and work at least four days a week for the employer[1]. They are entitled to three days of paid leave in each annual leave cycle, at their request, for specified family events, including the death of certain close family members[1]. Check the current text of section 27 for the full list of qualifying events, because it has been amended since 1997.
Notice periods and leave
A notice period is not leave, and an employer may not require or permit annual leave to be taken during it[1]. The minimum notice periods are one week for employees employed six months or less, two weeks for more than six months up to a year, and four weeks for a year or more[1][2].
Records
Every employer must keep records of each employee's name and occupation, time worked and remuneration paid, and must keep those records for three years from the date of the last entry[1]. Leave records are part of that picture. A clear record of leave accrued, taken and paid is the simplest way to avoid disputes.
A leave policy checklist
- State the annual leave entitlement and the leave cycle[1].
- Explain how leave is requested and approved, and when the employer may determine leave dates[1].
- State that leave must be taken within six months of the end of the cycle[1].
- Explain sick leave, the 36-month cycle and the medical certificate rules[1].
- Explain family responsibility leave and who qualifies[1].
- Set out how leave is paid on termination[1].
- Confirm that leave will not be paid out except on termination[1].
- Provide a contact for questions.
Common mistakes
- Allowing employees to sell leave back while employed. The Act prohibits pay instead of leave except on termination[1].
- Forfeiting leave without a policy that gives employees a fair opportunity to take it within the six-month window[1].
- Requiring a medical certificate for every single day of absence without considering the statutory threshold[1].
- Allowing annual leave to run during a notice period[1].
- Keeping leave records in personal spreadsheets with no audit trail.
A worked example
An administrative employee works a five-day week. In her first year she takes 10 days of annual leave, so five working days remain at the end of the cycle. Under the Act, the employer must grant that remaining leave not later than six months after the end of the cycle[1]. The employer's policy says it will agree leave dates with the employee, failing which it will schedule the leave. In the fifth month of the new cycle, HR notices the balance and schedules the days with her manager. In the same year she is ill for three consecutive days. Because the absence exceeds two consecutive days, the employer asks for a medical certificate[1]. She provides one from her GP and the days are paid. When she later resigns, her final pay includes the annual leave due for the incomplete cycle[1].
Who the Act covers
The Basic Conditions of Employment Act sets minimum conditions for most employees, but not every provision applies to every employee, and some sectors have their own sectoral determinations or bargaining council agreements. Before applying any rule in this guide, check whether a bargaining council agreement or sectoral determination covers your workplace. Where one applies, it may set different leave terms. The Department of Employment and Labour publishes guidance on conditions of employment and sectoral rules[3].
Occasional leave and unpaid leave
An employer may reduce an employee's annual leave by the number of days of occasional paid leave granted at the employee's request during that cycle[1]. That allows an employer to grant an odd day off and count it against annual leave, provided the employee asked for it. Separately, if an employee is on unpaid leave and asks in writing to take annual leave during that period, the employer must allow it[1].
Practical leave administration
A few administrative habits prevent most leave disputes:
- Record every type of leave separately: annual, sick, family responsibility and any other leave you grant.
- Show the leave balance on each payslip or in a self-service system, so that employees can see it.
- Remind employees of their balances well before the six-month window after the cycle closes.
- Ask for a medical certificate only where the Act allows you to make payment conditional on one[1], and apply the rule consistently.
- Keep supporting documents, such as medical certificates, securely and separately from the general personnel file.
- Reconcile leave balances when an employee leaves, so that final pay is correct[1].
When leave and discipline meet
Repeated short absences sometimes raise a question of misconduct or incapacity. Treat them carefully. The first question is whether the absence was covered by leave under the Act. The second is whether there is a pattern that warrants a conversation about the employee's health or circumstances. Only after that does discipline become relevant, and it should then follow a fair procedure.
Key points
- Annual leave is at least 21 consecutive days per cycle, granted within six months after the cycle ends[1].
- Sick leave is six weeks' worth of working days over 36 months[1].
- Medical certificates may be required for absences over two consecutive days or more than two occasions in eight weeks[1].
- Leave is paid out only on termination[1].
When to get specialist help
A consultant can draft or review leave policies, audit leave records, train managers on sick leave and certificates, and help resolve leave disputes before they escalate. The Department of Employment and Labour publishes basic guidance on conditions of employment that employers and employees can use alongside the Act[3]. If a labour inspector has asked for records, book a LabourLink consultation so that the records are checked before they are handed over[1].